The Vampire Diaries: The Protectors
by CatDaddy
Summary: What if Elena always had protectors? What if she was unknowingly already involved with supernatural's before the Salvatore's showed up? Bellinda, Aiden, Erica, and Angel have sworn to protect the Petrova line both living and undead.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's.**

**Summary: What if Elena always had protectors'? What if she was unknowingly already involved with supernatural's before the Salvatore's showed up? With a promise made to the Petrova's to protect their line and the survival of the doppelgangers (living or undead); Bellinda "Bella" Rosario (Shay Mitchell), Angel Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Erica Johnson (Britt Robertson), and Aiden Roberts (Taylor Lautner) grow up with Elena, protecting her from the shadows until the arrival of the Salvatore brothers forces them to bring their secret to light. **

**Prologue**

"Did you learn of what the Mikaelson's have done?" a voice growled. Bellinda turned her head towards her long time friend, her dark hair spilling over her shoulder.

"Be calm Aiden." She said soothingly. "I know you hurt over the death of Tatia, she was a dear friend to us all. I told her the dangers over having the love of two yet she did not heed my warning."

"How can you sit there so calmly? Your _dear friend_ has just been murdered yet her killers walk freely with their lives." Aiden seethed.

Bellinda's eyes narrowed. "Yes they walk, but I do not lay blame to the whole family. Finn, Niklaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol had nothing to do with it. I lay blame to Esther and Mikael. Out of pride they have turned their family into a potential disaster and killed _our_ friend in the process. Tatia may have been stubborn and misguided, but cruel she was not. She did not deserve death. She loss her life out of spite for not choosing _one_ owner of her heart. I have wept but her death shall not cripple me, she would not have wished that for any of us." She said.

Aiden's eyes softened and he looked towards the ground. Tatia was joyful, kind, and honest. She was loved as a little sister by Aiden. "We should not have told her of our ways." He whispered. "She would never have thought that love was possible between more than two if not for our stories."

"They are a young race." Said a blond, standing in the corner of the dim cottage. "They do not understand as much as they think they do. They have not roamed the earth as long as the fae have. They are not aware of us and our culture."

"Erica is right. They are not aware of us, for if they were Tatia would still be alive. They would not have dared to cross us or the ones we love." Spoke a small girl by the fire, her brown her hiding her face. In her hands were several diamonds. " We left to bring her gifts in the celebration of her day of birth, but we return to find her _dead_." She spat, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I know that you seek vengence. It will come to them, but we shall not be the ones to deliver for it is not our time." Bellinda said.

"When will it be our time?" Aiden asked through gritted teeth.

"Patience. Esther is a witch, a servant of nature. She has created an abomination to nature. Her choices shall cost her, without interference from any of us. But remember our promise to Tatia." Bellinda spoke, rising from her seat. "Gather everything that is dear to you, we are leaving."

"How are we supposed to find the child?" Angel asked.

"My last conversation with Tatia was about the findings of her child. I know where she is." Bellinda said.

With small sacks holding their valuables, they formed a circle in the middle of the room, joined hands, and closed their eyes.

Bellinda opened her eyes, looking around the room with a sad gaze. "We shall keep our promise sister." She whispered before closing her eyes and the group disappeared in a shatter of lights.

**Mystic Falls 1997**

A small brunette girl sat in the sandbox of a park silently watching other children play on the jungle gym. Her vison was soon blocked by the appearance of four other children standing in front of her. She tilted her head to look at them, taking in their features. The tallest was a boy. He had olive skin, short black hair, and a wide smile, showing is gleaming teeth that mirrored the joy in his eyes. The next was a blond girl with a small smile on her lips, her blue eyes showing care and curiosity. She couldn't make out whoever was behind "blue eyes", but next to her stood a girl with dark brown hair with a look of sadness on her face. She shuffled to the side though, making room for another. A girl with olive skin, black hair, and dark eyes stepped in front. She had a kind look on her face yet her eyes were guarded.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"My name is Elena." Said the girl in the sandbox, her brown eyes wide with wonder. "What's yours?" she asked.

"My name is Bellinda, but call me Bella. This is Aiden," she said pointing to the boy. "Erica, and Angel."

They mumured their greetings, keeping their eyes on Elena.

"Why are you sitting here by yourself?" Erica asked.

"My friends Caroline and Matt got the chickenpox, and Bonnie is visiting her grandma." Elena pouted. "The other kids don't want to play with me."

"We'll play with you." Aiden said.

"Really?" Elena asked with a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, we'll be your friends." Angel spoke.

"The best." Bella agreed as they all took spots in the sandbox.

_Another doppelganger_. Bella said through the groups link.

_We will do a better job of protecting her. She will not turn out like Katerina._ Angel thought.


	2. Pilot

**Chapter One: Pilot**

"Toast, I can make toast." Jenna said

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna." Elena said

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Your first day and I am totally unprepared." Jenna said, "Lunch money?"

"I'm okay." Elena said

Jeremy grabbed the money without saying anything.

"Anything else? A number two pencil?" Jenna asked

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena asked

"Yeah. I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at… now." She said, "Crap."

"You okay?" Elena asked

"Don't start." he said before walking away.

Elena's phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket.

"**We'll meet you at school. Bonnie will pick you up today." –Bella**

Elena smiled softly, remembering the four people who have always been there for her. Aiden, who always knew how to put a smile on her face, Erica, who was always curious about new things happening. Angel, who was always concerned for her safety. Finally Bella, who watched over all of them. They have always been there for her, even in her darkest moments. They were her rock this past summer after losing her parents.

A car honking broke Elena free of her musings. She grabbed her bag and left.

Voices could be heard outside of a large Victorian house. In the living room three teenagers sat arguing.

"What is he doing here?" asked Aiden. "We should kill him now; all he will bring is trouble."

"He is here two protect her too. Just like he did when the crash happened." Erica said.

"He doesn't even know about anything to protect her from. He's here so he can replace Katerina." Aiden seethed. "We would have saved her ourselves if he had not basically _stalked_ her."

"But we couldn't because we have to remain hidden. We can not interfere." Angel said "Revealing ourselves to a Salvatore would have been asking for trouble."

"We could have just made him forget." Aiden protested.

"And what? Leave him wondering how his favorite obsession got out for a submerging car while she was unconscious? We did save her; we keep the car above water long enough for him to arrive. If we had did anything else he would've asked questions and start searching around town. We couldn't risk it." Angel argued.

"_Enough_!" a voice called. Arguments stopped and they looked to the figure by the stairs. "Stefan Salvatore is here but he is not a danger to Elena." Bella said, stepping farther into the room. "His intentions are pure. End of story."

"But you know that wherever he goes Damon follows." Aiden said.

"It has been fifteen years since they've last seen each other." Erica spoke.

"All the more reason to _kill_ them." Aiden spat.

"_Death_ is not the way to solve our problems-"Erica tried.

"IT IS WHEN IT INVLOVES THE PEOPLE I LOVE!" Aiden roared.

"_SILENCE!"_ Bella yelled. "_No one_ will be killing anyone. Aiden though you may not see it, there is something redeemable in _both_ Salvatore's. If they both return then we protect Elena. _Period_."

The room was silenced, Aiden panting in controlled anger.

"Let's go before we're late for _school_." Bella said, rolling her eyes.

They all gathered their school supplies and left the house.

Fifteen minutes later the group was waiting in front of the school for Bonnie and Elena.

"Hey guys." They heard a voice call.

They turned around, seeing Bonnie and Elena walking towards them.

"Bonnie, how are you?" Erica asked when they reached them.

"Great, how about you?" Bonnie smiled.

"Fabulous." Erica answered.

"Tell them." Elena urged.

"Tell us what?" Aiden asked.

"Her grams is telling her she's a psychic." Elena answered.

Aiden laughed and Erica's lips quirked up. Angel chuckled and Bella had an amused glint in her eyes.

"Well if it turns out to be true, we are so hitting up Atlantic City to go and make a fortune at the casinos." Aiden smiled.

Angel stepped forward and gently brought Elena into a hug. "Hello Ellie." Angel said into her ear.

"Hi Jelly." Elena whispered softly. She smiled at the memory of their childhood nicknames. She knew that this was Angel's way of making sure she was okay.

As soon as Angel stepped back Elena was lifted into a bear hug by Aiden.

"What's up sis?" he said.

"Hi Aiden." Elena wheezed out.

"Put her down before you cut off her oxygen anymore Aiden." Erica chuckled, before stepping forward to give her a hug after she was released. "Hi Elena." She said stepping back from the hug.

"Hey Erica." She smiled.

"Good morning Elena." Bella said softly squeezing her shoulder. "Let's get inside."

They began to walking into the school.

"Do you think there's a chance Tanner's gonna be any less of a dick this year?" Aiden asked.

"That depends on whether or not he got that stick out of his ass." Angel chuckled.

They walked down the hallway and stopped in front of Bonnie's locker. After a minute Caroline came up to them.

"Elena. Oh my God. How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you." Caroline said before turning to Bonnie and saying, "How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, I'm right here and I'm fine thank you." Elena said.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, much better." Elena answered; Angel glanced down as the lie was obvious to her and the others.

"Oh, you poor thing." Caroline said, before turning to the rest of the group. "Hey guy's"

"Hi Caroline." Aiden smiled softly at her after the others said their greetings.

"Okay, see you guys later." she said before walking away.

They continued down the hall before Bonnie stopped.

"Hold up, who's this." Bonnie said.

"All I see is back." Elena said

"It's a hot back." Bonnie shot back.

"He's okay." Erica said while the others shrugged.

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie said

Aiden clenched his jaw." I have to get to my locker." he said before walking away.

"I'll catch you guys later." Erica said before following him.

"I'll be right back." Elena said after she saw Jeremy walking down the hallway.

"Angel and I are going to our lockers. Tell Elena we'll see her later." Bella told Bonnie before walking away.

"Caw." Stefan heard a crow squawk as it flew across my room. He turned towards the window it came through and saw a man wearing all black and had ice blue eyes.

"Damon." He said with a sigh.

"Hello brother." Damon smirked.

"When did you get here?" Stefan asked tensely.

"Well I couldn't miss your first day of school," Damon smiled mockingly. "Your hairs different, I like it."

"It's been fifteen years Damon." Stefan said.

"Thank God, I couldn't take another day of the nineties," He responded, "That horrible grunge look, did not suite you. Remember Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" Stefan cut in loudly, becoming irritated.

"I missed my little brother," He said condescendingly.

"You hate small towns, their boring there's nothing for you to do." Stefan said.

"I've managed to keep myself busy," Damon said." I have to say, the kids in this town look simply... delicious," he grinned.

"You know you left that girl alive tonight, that's very clumsy of you," Stefan said.

"Aaahhhh... yeah that could be a problem, for you," Damon smiled.

"Why are you here now?" Stefan grounded out.

"I could ask you the same question," Damon said." However I'm fairly certain your answer could be summed up into one little word…Elena."

"She took my breath away, Elena," Damon said. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Is it working Stefan? Being around her, in her world. Does it make you feel alive?" he asked, grinning at him.

"She's not Katherine." Stefan said.

"Well let's hope not, we all know how that ended." He answered. "Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger that a squirrel?"

"I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work." Stefan said.

"Come on don't you crave a little?" Damon asked as he shoved him.

"Stop it," Stefan said forcefully.

"Let's do it together," Damon taunted "I saw a couple girls out there. Or let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena," Damon said enthusiastically.

"Stop it," Stefan shoved him back.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like," he yelled as Stefan turned away, his eyes darkening and veins appearing on his face. "I can."

"I SAID STOP!" Stefan yelled lunging for Damon.

He hit him and went straight through the window. Stefan hit the ground hard, only to find there was nothing under him. He looked around as he got up slowly.

"I was impressed," Damon spoke from his spot by the hedges. "Very good with the whole face aarrgggaarrgg thing. That was good. Very... _scary._"

"Yeah, it's all fun and games Damon, but wherever you go people die." Stefan said.

"That's a given." he responded as if stating the obvious.

"Not here, I won't allow it." Stefan told him.

"I take that as an invitation," Damon declared.

"Damon please, after all these years can't we just give it a rest?" Stefan pleaded.

"I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word," Damon explained.

"Stay away from Elena!" Stefan said forcefully.

"Where's your ring?" Damon asked.

Stefan looked down at his hand to discover his ring gone.

"Oh yeah, suns coming up in a couple of hours, and poof, ashes to ashes," Damon continued. "Ha, relax its right here." He said giving Stefan his ring back.

Stefan slipped it back onto his finger and looked up to find Damon's face change. Damon wrapped his hand around his neck and threw him into the garage 20 feet away before he sped over to him.

"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me," he threatened. "You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." He spat.

"I think we woke Zack up." Damon said. "Sorry Zack!" he called, walking away.

Up above in the trees surrounding the b boarding house Bella and Angel stood.

_This isn't good_. Angel said through the link.

_Let's get back to the others._ Bella thought, before the two disappeared at a high speed.


	3. Night of the Comet

**Chapter Two: Night of the Comet**

When Bella and Angel returned to the house to inform the others of the situation there was uproar.

"HE WON'T TOUCH HER." Aiden roared.

"I'll rip him to pieces before he gets the chance." Angel agreed.

"I told you we should have killed them. What the hell is so redeemable about them?" Aiden asked.

"You mean besides Stefan choosing to feed from animals. Or that for the last 145 years Damon has threatened to kill his brother but never actually gone through with it." Erica stated.

"But we all know what he was like before." He argued.

"His emotions are on though; his feelings for Elena are genuine." Erica shot back.

"Erica is right. Stefan is not a threat to Elena, but Damon might be." Bella said. "He will be reluctant to harm her though, even if it is just because of her appearance."

"So what do we do?" Angel asked.

"What we've been doing for the last 17 years…protect her." Bella said. "If the Salvatore's become too much of a problem _I'll _deal with them. This discussion is over. Everybody go to bed." She said, turning away starting towards the stairs.

* * *

><p>The next morning everyone is sitting at the table in the kitchen, glaring at the newspaper that lies upon it.<p>

"Are they a problem yet?" Aiden asked snidely.

"Let's go." Bella said, ignoring Aiden.

After school ended they went to the grill to have a bite to eat and play pool.

Bella looked down as her phone beeped.

"What is it?" Angel asked.

"Elena just texted me, asking for a ride to the Salvatore boarding house." She answered a slight frown on her face.

Aiden's grip on his pool stick tightened and Erica looked up with a look of worry on her face. "Who's going with you?" she asked.

"No one. Everything will be fine." Bella said as she stood up, slipping her black leather half-jacket on.

"We'll see you later, tell Elena we said hi." Angel called after her friend.

"Will do." Bella shouted as she opened the door.

* * *

><p>"You're coming in?" Elena asked.<p>

"You didn't think I would let you go into a big dark house all alone did you?" Bella asked.

"Bella-" Elena started

"Don't worry; I just wanted to meet Stefan." Bella said with a grin

"Fine." she said heading towards the door.

When they got to the door Elena rang the door bell. When no one opened the door Elena tried to knock but when she tried to the door slowly opened but no one was there.

"I guess it was open." she said talking a step inside the house, "Stefan?" she called.

Bella made sure to keep close to Elena, she could already since someone in the house. Since Stefan would've answered the door she knew that Damon was the only one there.

They looked around for a minute before hearing a noise coming from outside. Elena turned around but nothing was there. While she was looking out the door a crow flew thought it. She gasped and turned around as the crow flew past them and came face to face with a man dressed in a black V neck tee and black jeans and blue eyes.

"We're sorry for barging in." Elena said. "The door was…" she turned around to see that the door was closed."Open." She finished.

"You must be Elena." he said.

"Yeah." she replied lamely.

"And you must be?" Damon said, confused by Bella's presence.

"Bellinda." She said coolly.

"I'm Damon. Stefan's brother." he said.

"Stefan never said that he had a brother." Elena said.

"Well Stefan isn't one to brag." Damon said with a smirk.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Please come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any moment." he said leading them into the living room.

"Wow. This is your living room?" Elena asked.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste." he said.

"I see why my brothers so smitten." Damon said causing Elena to turn towards him, "It's about time I never thought he'd get over the other one. Nearly destroyed him."

"The last one?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. Katherine. His girlfriend." He replied.

Bella kept a cool façade, but her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Katherine.

Elena shook her head.

"Oh. You two haven't had the awkward ex's conversation yet." Damon said.

"Nope." Elena said.

"Oops. Well I'm sure it'll come up now. Or may_be_he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end." Damon said.

"You say it like all relationships are doomed to end." Bella said, head tilted to the side at the sound of Stefan entering the house.

"I'm a fatalist." he said, "Hello, Stefan."

Elena and Bella turned around to find Stefan standing behind them, Bella was not surprised.

"Elena. I didn't know you were coming over." Stefan said "But I'm afraid that I don't know who you are." He nodded to Bella.

"Bellinda, my friends call me Bella." She said.

"I know, I should have called-" Elena started.

"Oh, don't be silly." Damon interrupted, "You two are welcome anytime. Aren't they Stefan?"

Stefan didn't say a word

"I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But I have to warn you…he wasn't always such a looker." Damon said.

"Thank you for stopping by Elena. It was nice seeing you. And it was nice to meet you Bella." Stefan said.

"Yeah. We should probably go." Elena said.

"Yeah." Bella repeated.

Elena turned towards Damon. "It was nice meeting you Damon." She said.

"Great meeting you too, Elena." Damon said before grabbing her hand and kissing it, " And you to Bella."

"_Bellinda_." She corrected tersely.

Elena shot her a look before walking until she was standing in front of Stefan.

"Stefan?" She asked, "Stefan."

Instead of answering he just moved to the side so Elena and Bella could pass. They walked back to Bella's car and started to drive back to town.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Elena asked.<p>

"He rubs me the wrong way." Bella replied, gripping the wheel a bit tighter. "And don't let anything he said go to your head. Stefan will open up to you in time."

* * *

><p>Later that night Elena and Bella were walking around the square with candles in their hands.<p>

"Where are the others?" Elena asked.

"Around." Bella said softly, looking towards the sky. "We're all glad that you are starting to be happy again." She looked at Elena. "Especially Angel."

"I don't know where I'd be right now if I didn't have you guys." Elena said.

"You would be standing right here with someone else having fun. Don't doubt your strength Elena." Bella told her, looking into her eyes.

_Bella! There's a situation on the roof of the grill._ Bella heard Erica call through the link.

"I think I left my wallet in my car." Bella told Elena. "Go find Caroline and Bonnie, I'll catch up later." She said before walking away.

* * *

><p>Bella found the others hidden in the dark of an alley.<p>

"What's happening?" she asked.

"Look." Angel said, nodding towards the roof of the Mystic Grill.

Bella looked up and she could she Damon Salvatore taunting Vicki Donovan on the edge of the roof. "He won't toss her; it will draw to much attention. But in case Damon has gotten any crazier over the years be ready to slow down her fall." She told them.

"Wait." Erica said, seeing Stefan rush up to the scene. "Let's listen."

**"Not bad," said Damon. "Have you been eating bunnies?"**

**"Let her go," Stefan said.**

**"Really? Okay," **and with that Damon almost dropped her, chuckling her screams of protest.

**"No! No!"** they heard Stefan yell, before Damon threw Vicki towards him and he jumped back onto the roof.

**"Relax."** Damon sighed.

**"What's happening?"** They hear ask Vicki frantically.

**"I don't need her to be dead," Damon says. "But, you might."**

**"What attacked you the other night?"** Damon asked her.

**"I don't know an animal."** Vicki says confused.

**"Are you sure about that?"** Damon asked. **"Think about it, think really hard. What attacked you?"**

**"A vampire."** Vicki answered.

Angel's eyes widen as she looks to Bella.

"We'll intercept her before she gets the chance to tell anybody." Bella says quietly.

**"Who did this to you?"** Damon raised his voice.

**"You did!"** Vicki screamed.

**"Wrong!"** Damon shouted.

**"Don't."** Stefan protested.

**"Stefan."** Damon whispered.

**"Don't!"** Stefan repeated in desperation.

**"Stefan Salvatore did this to you."** Damon said.

**"Stefan Salvatore did this to me,"** Vicki repeated.

**"He's a vampire,"** Damon continued. **"A vicious, murderous monster is what he is. He wants your blood. He wants to suck you dry and rip apart your body, don't you**_**Ripper**_**?"**

**"Please Damon, please don't do this."** Stefan begged.

**"If you couldn't fix this before, I don't know what your gonna do now."** Damon said.

**"Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak," **Damon said.** "A couple of vampire parlor ticks, it's nothing compared to the power you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood, gives you that. You have to choices, you can feed and make her forget or you can let her run screaming **_**vampire**_** through the town square." **

**"That's what this is about?"** Stefan asked. **"You wanna expose me?"**

**"No! I want you to remember who you are."** Damon shouted.

**"Why? So what? So I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be family again? You know what? Let her go. Let her tell everyone that**_**vampires**_**have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart. Because at least I'll be free of you."** Stefan spoke.

"She never will." Aiden said through gritted teeth.

**"Wow."** Damon said. **"Come here, its okay. You're alright. There is no such thing as Vampires. It was an animal that attacked you in the woods, and you don't remember what happened here tonight."**

**"What happened?"** Vicki asked. **"Where am I? Ah, I think my stitches opened.**_**Ah**_**."**

"You Okay?" Stefan said worried.

**"I took some pills man, I'm good."** Vicki said.

_I am so sick of that little druggie._ Erica said through the link, rolling her eyes.

**"It's good to be home."** Damon stated. **"I think I might stay a while. This town needs a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"** Damon asked rhetorically.

**"What are you up to Damon?"** Stefan questioned

**"That's for me to know and for you to dot, dot, dot."** Damon smiled sarcastically**. "Give Elena my best." **Damon said before disappearing from the roof.

_Elena is getting nothing from either of you if I have anything to do with it._ Aiden thought angrily through the link.

_Let's go._ Bella thought.

* * *

><p>"Clearly this must tell you that we should deal with them." Aiden said from the fireplace.<p>

"If Damon goes too far we will intervene. They don't suspect us, that's a good thing. Imagine the surprise on their faces when the find out." Bella said.

"_When_? Don't you mean _if_?" Angel asked from her seat on the couch.

"I mean _when_. Elena is growing older. She lives in Mystic Falls which is a magnet for the supernatural. She will learn the truth soon." Bella answered.

"Will she be able to handle it?" Erica asked.

"She will be angry with us when she learns that she is not a Gilbert. But we can not tell her everything right away. She will learn slowly, ease into it." Bella explained.

"What about the Salvatore's?" Aiden asked.

"We can't separate Elena and Stefan. Even though it has only been a short time, she has already fallen too deeply." Angel interjected.

"Angel is right. The most we can do is continue to protect Elena." Bella sighed. "With that settled, let's call it a night."

They retreated to their bedrooms, preparing for the next day.


	4. Friday Night Bites

**Chapter Three: Friday Night Bites**

The next morning before everyone left Bella informed them that she would be riding with Elena and Bonnie.

"Why?" Aiden asked.

"To see what she thinks of Stefan so far." Bella said. "Now hurry up and leave."

* * *

><p>Bella was waiting on the porch steps when Bonnie's car pulled up.<p>

"Hey." Bella said after she closed the backseat door. They murmured their greetings before continuing their conversation.

"Listen, I'm not saying don't date the guy, I'm just saying take it slow." Bonnie said.

"You are the one who said to go for it." Elena said.

"I guess we're talking about Stefan." Bella stated.

Bonnie nodded her head before continuing. "Now, I'm saying take it slow." Bonnie said.

"Why the about-face?" Elena asked.

"It's not an about-face." Bonnie said.

"You kinda have the about-face." Bella agreed.

"You're single for the first time in high school." Bonnie said. "It's the perfect time to play the field."

"Oh, because I'm so that girl." Elena said. "Seriously what aren't you saying?"

"It's stupid" Bonnie said as they exited the car and began walking towards the school.

"Bonnie." Elena urged.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"Spit it out." Elena demanded.

"I accidentally touched Stefan and I got a really bad feeling." Bonnie explained.

_It's about time she started coming into her powers._ Bella thought as she opened the link to the others.

"Is that it?" Elena said, she grabbed Bonnie's hand when she tried to walk away, "Bonnie."

"It was _bad _bad." she said.

"Is this the whole witchy-mojo thing again?" Elena asked.

_It's completely the witchy-mojo thing._ Aiden sent through the link.

_Let's just be glad that she can't sense us. _Erica thought.

_Witches judge too much without trying to fully understand it._ Angel thought back.

_I agree. The fact that we're immortal would most likely put us on their black list, even if our race is older than theirs._ Bella said through the link.

"Know what? I'm just concerned." Bonnie said, "This is me expressing concern for my best friends' new boyfriend."

"And I love you for it. I do. But I feel good." Elena said, "It's been a hard year and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that."

_I feel loved._ Aiden thought.

Stefan came up to them.

"Morning, Elena. Morning, Bella, Bonnie." Stefan said to them.

"Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her cell. So see you guys." Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, wait." Elena said.

"She doesn't like me very much does she?" Stefan asked.

"I think she adores you." Bella said sarcastically.

"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me but when she does, she will love you." Elena said.

* * *

><p>They were in history next, the only class all four of them shared with Elena. Unfortunately for Aiden, they shared it with Stefan as well.<p>

"World war two ended in…?" Tanner started. "Anyone got anything? "

_You know it really is depressing that children don't care about their history. They all had family who were there to witness it, just as we were._ Angel sent through the link.

"1945. Pearl Harbor?" he asked. "Really nothing? Miss Gilbert?"

"Hm?" Elena asked.

"Pearl Harbor." He said.

"Um…" she tried.

"December 7th 1941." Stefan answered for her.

"Thank you…Miss Gilbert." Tanner said causing the class to laugh.

"Anytime." Stefan said.

"Very well. The fall of the Berlin Wall." Tanner questioned.

"1989. I'm good with dates, sir." Stefan said

"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year." Tanner said, "Civil Rights Act?"

"1964." Stefan answered.

_Gee I wonder how he knows all of this_. Aiden thought to the others, rolling his eyes. _I'm sure it has nothing to do with being there to witness everything._

_At least we don't cheat by constantly raising our hands. I could teach this class better than Tanner. _Erica thought.

_No one likes a showoff. _Angel sent.

_Quiet. I'm trying to enjoy Tanner's humiliation._ Bella thought.

"John F, Kennedy assassination?" Tanner shot.

"1963." Stefan answered.

"Martin Luther King?"

"'68."

"Lincoln?"

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade?"

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board?"

"1953"

"The Battle of Gettysburg?"

"1863."

"Korean War."

"1950 to 1953."

"Hah!" Tanner shouted. "It ended in 1952."

_This guy calls himself a history teacher? _Erica thought.

"Actually sir, it ended in 1953." Stefan corrected.

_He is acting childish getting so involved just to embarrass a student. _Bella thought.

_Looks like that backfired. _Aiden chuckled.

"Look it up somebody." Tanner demanded.

"It was 1953." A boy said looking at his phone.

All the students started clapping. Bella and the others included with small smiles on their faces, albeit Aiden did so reluctantly.

The bell rang and everyone gathered their books and began to leave.

"Nice job." Bella smiled at Stefan before leaving.

He stared after her, slightly surprised that she was talking to him.

"You just earned her approval." Elena said. "How did you know all of that?" Elena asked Stefan.

"Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing." Stefan replied.

* * *

><p>After school they all went to cheerleadingfootball practice to watch Aiden. Bonnie was stretching when Elena came up behind them.

"Oh my god, you're here." Bonnie said giving Elena a hug.

The girls smiled at Elena.

"Yep, I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they are is to do things that were. Oh. And you are coming to dinner tonight."

"I am?"

"Yep. You, me, Bella, and Stefan." the second Elena said Stefan's name Bonnie got this look on her face, "You have to give him a chance."

"Why just Bella?" Erica asked.

"I don't want to overwhelm him with too big of a group." Elena explained.

"I'll bring Angel. He can get to know us slowly." Bella said.

"Tonight's no good..." Elena gave her a look, "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her a hundred times." Bonnie said, hoping to distract her.

"Don't change the subject Bonnie Bennett." Elena said. "You're going to be there."

"Fine, I'll go." Bonnie agreed.

"Good." Elena said.

"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. It's not like her." Elena said.

"I'll try her again." Bonnie said grabbing her phone.

"Uh…" Elena said pointing to a blue muscle car pulling up.

_Uh oh. _Erica thought.

_This is not good._ Angel sent.

_Not at all._ Bella agreed.

_WHAT?_ Aiden's voice roared in their heads.

"Oh my God. That must be the mystery guy from the Grill." Bonnie said.

"That's no mystery guy." Elena said. "That's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore as in Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"You are correct." Bella said.

At that moment Caroline came walking past them. "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind. Sorry I'm late girls I was busy. Okay let's start with the double-pike herkie hurdler. What do you say?" she said.

_She doesn't know what she's gotten into._ Bella sent.

_He's playing with her._ Erica stated.

_We have to think of something._ Angel thought.

_I'll kill him. _Aiden's thought in a tone that sent chills down their spines.

_Caroline will survive, though not completely unscathed. I promise you Aiden that she will not die at his hands._ Bella sent, knowing of Aiden's love for Caroline.

Erica turned making eye contact with Damon before he drove off.

* * *

><p>Later that night Bella, Angel, and Bonnie were helping Elena unpack food.<p>

"I could have just cooked Elena." Bella told her.

"No, you're doing enough by being here and trying to help Stefan feel comfortable. Thanks you guys." Elena said.

"It's no problem." Angel assured her.

"Today, I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?" Bonnie said.

"Maybe we should play the lottery." Elena said jokingly.

"Aiden might have been right about Atlantic City." Angel chuckled.

Elena laughed, "Have you talked to your grams?"

"She's just gonna say I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie said.

_I wonder how she's gonna reacted when she finds out that everything her grams has told her is true. _Bella thought.

"I don't want to be a witch." Elena said

_That's because fae are much more awesome. _Angel sent.

"It sounds cool." Bella interjected.

"Maybe to you, but not me." Bonnie said. "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't going to fool anybody."

"Let's get this to the table, Stefan's gonna be here any-" Elena was interrupted by the doorbell ringing, "second." She finished.

"Go get the door, we'll set the table." Bella said.

* * *

><p>Everyone was gathered around the table eating silently and looking at each other.<p>

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan.

"Well he let me on the team. So I must have done something right." Stefan said.

"You got on the football team." Angel said surprised. "Did you meet Aiden?"

"I got a glimpse of him but never got the chance to introduce myself." Stefan said.

"Bonnie you should have seen Stefan today, Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"

"Yeah, I heard." Bonnie interrupted Elena

_And the judging begins._ Bella sent.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"Um, divorced. No mom, live wit my dad."

"You know what she meant Bonnie." Bella said.

"About the witches." Elena said. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool is not the word I would use." Bonnie said.

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history if Celtic Druids that migrated here during the 1800's." Stefan said.

_Kiss up. _Angel thought.

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie said.

"Really? Salem witches?" Stefan said.

"Yeah." Bonnie said.

"I'd say that's pretty cool." Stefan said.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." Stefan said.

"Yeah, they are." Bonnie said.

_Let's not forget about how arrogant and judgmental they are._ Bella thought.

Just then the doorbell rang

"I wonder who that could be." Elena said.

Bella and Angel froze in their seats, already sensing who it was and the dangers it could bring. They stood up walking behind Elena.

Elena opened the door to find Caroline and Damon on the other side.

"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner so we brought dessert." Caroline said.

"Oh." Elena said.

"Hope you don't mind." Damon said.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked coming to in front of the door.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon said.

Bella narrowed her eyes while Angel tensed.

"Yeah, sure, come right on-." Elena started.

"No, no, no." Stefan said, "He can't stay."

"Get in here." Caroline said

"We're just finishing up." Stefan said.

"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena said.

"You have a beautiful home, Elena." Damon said stepping inside.

_I'm going to watch her house tonight. _Bella sent.

Angel gave a small nod.

* * *

><p>"I can not believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline said. "Tyler must be seething. But good for you, go for it."<p>

"That's what I always tell him, you have to engage you can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon said, looking at Stefan.

_I'm starting to agree with Aiden. _Angel sent.

_He won't touch her._ Bella thought.

"Yeah Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp." Caroline said. "I don't know how you're ever gonna learn the routines."

"I'll work with her," Bonnie interrupted, becoming agitated. "She'll get it."

"I guess I could put her in the back." Caroline said.

"Hey you don't seem like the cheerleader type Elena." Damon observed.

"Oh it's just 'cause her parents died." Caroline said. "I mean she's totally just going through a blah phase, she used to be way more fun, and I say that with complete sensitivity."

_My God that was sensitive? _Angel thought. _What the hell does Aiden see in her?_

_I'm sure he sees what everybody else seems to be missing. He sees her for who she truly is and not just the popular cheerleader. That is love. _Bella sent.

"I'm sorry Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents, in fact Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Damon said.

_That's because you killed off almost half of them._ Angel thought.

_Let's have a little fun. _Bella sent.

"We don't need to get into that right now Damon." Stefan said.

"You know what Stefan you're right, I'm sorry." Damon said. "The last thing we wanna do is bring her up."

"Can this guy be any _more_ of a dick? He's being so obvious that he's trying to make this dinner awkward." Bella whispered to Angel, knowing Stefan and Damon could hear her.

"I can sense the sibling grudge from a mile away. What more could you expect when you date the same girl at the same time." Angel whispered back.

Damon's eyes hardened and Stefan's lips quirked up.

"You two have been quiet all evening. I've had the pleasure of meeting Bellinda but you are a new face." Damon said, looking at the two.

"My name is Angel." She said a small teasing smile on her face.

"So what's your story?" he asked with a smile on his face,

_Not subtle about trying to gather information is he?_ Bella thought.

"Well we grew up together with two others." Bella started.

"Erica and Aiden." Angel explained.

"The blond I saw earlier?" Damon questioned.

"Yes." Angel said.

"No parents?" Damon asked.

"We were all adopted by a rich couple who like the _idea_ of being parents more than the actual thing." Angel said.

_I'm so glad we were able to drop that illusion. _Bella said.

"We can hardly remember what they look like. They sent money every month and left us with a nanny until we were old enough to take care of ourselves. We got emancipated and were left with a fortune." Bella explained.

"Their all totally cool though." Caroline said.

"Yeah." Bonnie agreed.

"They're the best friends you could ever have." Elena said softly.

* * *

><p>Elena and Bella were doing the dishes when Damon walked in with a glass.<p>

"One more." he said.

"Thank you." Elena said, grabbing for the class but it slipped, before it could shatter on the floor Damon caught it.

"Nice save." Elena laughed.

"I like you." Damon said pointing to Elena. "You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile which is something I haven't seen in a while."

"I wonder why?" Bella said under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Damon's eyes cut to her before returning to Elena's.

"Earlier did you mean Katherine? How did she die?" Elena asked.

"In a fire. Tragic fire." he said.

_Wow he is really trying to play it up._ Angel sent, hearing the conversation from the other room.

"Recently?" Elena asked.

"Seems like it was yesterday." He said.

_It happened 145 years ago and she didn't even die, but you don't need to know that._ Angel thought, rolling her eyes.

"What was she like?" Elena asked.

"She was beautiful. Very complicated and selfish and at times not very kind. But very sexy and seductive." He grinned.

_Translation: She was a complete bitch. She was better when she was human. _Bella thought.

"So which one of you dated her first?" Bella asked.

"Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine." Damon said.

"I'm sure it does." Bella said.

"I'd quit cheerleading if I were you." he said to Elena.

"Why do you say that?" Elena asked.

"Oh I saw you at practice. You looked miserable." He said.

Elena looked at Bella.

"He's not wrong. If cheerleading doesn't make you happy, don't do it. No one will think differently of you." Bella said.

"You saw that?" Elena asked.

"Are we wrong?" he asked.

"I used to love it," she began, "It was fun, but things are different this year, everything that used to matter, doesn't anymore." Elena finished.

"So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved, ta-da." Damon said.

"Some things could matter again." Elena said

"Maybe. But it seems a little unrealistic to me." Damon said.

"You don't have to force yourself Elena." Bella said.

"I'm sorry. About Katherine. You lost her too." Elena said.

Damon looked surprised for a moment before he schooled his features.

"Hey. Need some help?" Bonnie asked as she and Angel walked into the kitchen.

"Sure, why not." Damon said.

* * *

><p>Bella and Angel could hear the conversation from the other room.<p>

**"They are people Damon. She's not a puppet; she doesn't exist for your amusement for you to feed on when ever you want to."** Stefan said.

**"Sure she does, they all do."** Damon said cheerfully. **"And doesn't Bella just look.. delicious?" **

Angel looked at Bella.

_I'd like to see him try. _Bella thought.

_He's in for a surprise. _Angel sent back.

**"They're whatever we want them to be; they're ours for the taking."** Damon continued.

**"Alright you've had you're fun, you used Caroline, you got to me and Elena, good for you, now it's time for you to go."** Stefan said.

**"That's not a problem, because I've been invited in. And I will come back tomorrow night and the following night, and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that's what's normal to me." **Damon said.

_We're getting Elena vervain. _Angel sent.

_And we're setting up a schedule. Elena will be watched every night. _Bella thought.

* * *

><p>After Stefan and Damon left, Angel disappeared for a few seconds before returning.<p>

"Here." She said, handing Bella a bracelet. "They charm in the middle is filled with vervain."

"Thank you." Bella said, before walking upstairs to Elena's room. "Elena?" she called, lightly knocking on the door. "Are you decent?" she asked.

"Yeah, come in." Elena called.

Bella opened the door and stepped inside to see Elena finishing her hair.

"What do you need?" Elena asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you." Bella said as she sat down at the end of Elena's bed.

"What about?" Elena asked, sitting down next to her.

"I know that this past summer has been hard for you." Bella started.

"Bella really, I'm okay." Elena interrupted.

"I know." Bella said. "That's why we're so happy." She opened her palm, showing Elena the bracelet. "This is a gift from all of us. To show that we will never leave you. Even if at sometime that you may not want us there, we'll always protect you."

"Bella…where is all this coming from? Did something happen?" Elena asked.

"This conversation will make a lot more sense in time." Bella said, grabbing Elena's wrist and securing the bracelet around it. "Just know that we love you." Bella said, giving Elena a brief hug before standing. "Goodnight Elena."

* * *

><p>The football game was the next night. Elena was talking to some cheerleaders while Bella was conversing with Erica and Angel when Stefan came up to them.<p>

"Ooh. Look at you in you. You look hot in your jersey." Elena said.

"What happened? No more cheerleader?" Stefan asked.

"I quit. I'm a quitter." Elena said.

"No. Hey you suffered a great loss. You're not the same person. You should be looking ahead. You should be starting over. Okay?" Stefan said, "I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird but I wanted you to have this." he said bringing out a box with two necklaces in it.

"Oh my God, their beautiful." Elena said.

"Wow." Bella said, coming to stand next to her.

"There something that I've had forever and I've never wanted to give them to anybody until now." he said, "I'd very much like it if both of you would wear one for me, for good luck."

_He's giving me vervain. Damon worried him. Is he in you good books now Aiden? _Bella asked through the link.

_He's okay. _Aiden reluctantly admitted.

"Wait, one of them is for me?" Bella asked, pretending to be confused.

"Yes, for trying to make me feel more welcomed." Stefan said.

"Is that rose I smell?" Elena asked after smelling her necklace. _It's kinda like my bracelet._ She thought.

"No. It's an herb. It's nice, huh?" Stefan said.

"I love it." Elena said.

"I do as well." Bella said, smiling.

* * *

><p>Tanner was giving a speech before the big game when Jeremy and Tyler started fighting. They turned around to see Jeremy cut Stefan in the hand with a broken glass bottle. Elena ran to him.<p>

_Wonder how he's gonna explain that one. _Erica thought.

_Elena clearly saw him._ Angel agreed.

"Oh my God, your hand." Elena said.

"No, no, no it's fine." Stefan said.

"Are you crazy you just got your hand cut by a huge piece of glass. Is it deep?" Elena asked grabbing Stefan's clenched fist, "How bad is it? Come on." She said and he slowly opened his hand to show his uncut hand. "What?" she said confused._ I was so sure he got cut._ Elena thought. "But I saw it , it was-" Elena tried.

"He missed. It's not my blood." he said before wiping his hand on his pants. "See, its fine."

"No, no, no I saw it. The class cut your hand" Elena said.

"It's okay." Stefan said, "I'm okay. It's almost kick off time, so I'll see you guys after the game." he said before walking off.

"Let's go find Bonnie." Elena said to Bella.

"Sure." Bella agreed.

They found Bonnie with the other cheerleaders. "Hey, where have you guys been?" Bonnie asked.

"Can I ask you a question? And can you give me a serious no-joke response?" Elena asked.

"Of course. What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction-" Elena tried.

"Forget I said that. Your dinner-party plot won me over." Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, Seriously. What was it? Did you see something or...?" Elena asked.

"When I touched Stefan it wasn't clear like a picture it was a feeling. And it vibrated though me, and it was cold, and…" Bonnie paused.

"And what?" Elena asked.

"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie said gravely.

* * *

><p>Later on Elena was at her car to get something out of the back. She turned around and gasped, not expecting to see Damon behind her.<p>

"Oh, y-you scared me w-what are you doing here?" Elena asked nervously.

"I'm hiding from Caroline." Damon said.

"And why is that?" Elena asked.

"I needed a break. She talks more than I can listen." Damon said.

"That could be a sign." Elena said.

"Well, she's awfully young." He said.

"Not much younger than you are." Elena said back.

"Yeah but I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she would drive me crazy." Damon said.

"Caroline does have some really annoying traits, but we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me." Elena said, defending her friend.

"Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention." Damon said.

"Yes it is, otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say." Elena said.

"You're right. I do have other intentions, but so do you." Damon said, not noticing Bella walking up behind him.

"Really?" Elena asked.

"You want to mess with Stefan, oh yes, you want to play with his head and make him want you." Damon tried to compel her. "But now, you're going to break up with him."

He did not expect to get slapped in the face.

"What the hell?" Elena said. "I don't know what game you are trying to play with Stefan but I don't want to be part of it, and I don't know what happened in the past but let's get one thing straight. I am not Katherine." Elena said angrily.

"And she never will be." Bella said, shocking them with her presence. "Stay away from Elena. Your brotherly grudge game is getting old and very pathetic." She said before grabbing Elena and steering her towards the football stadium.

* * *

><p>Outside by the locker rooms.<p>

"Isn't that nice. Stefan joins the team and makes a friend." Damon said.

"Not tonight, I'm done with you." Stefan said.

"Nice trick with Elena." Damon commented. "Let me guess, vervain in the necklace? I admit I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where did you get it?" He asked.

"Does it matter?" Stefan questioned.

"Guess I could just seduce her the old fashion way. Or I could just eat her. Bella first, that bitch is starting to get on my nerves." Damon said.

"No your not gonna hurt them Damon." Stefan said.

"No?" Damon asked.

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for Elena and by extension Bella. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you. That you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be." Stefan said.

"Who's pretending?" Damon questioned.

"Then kill me." Stefan offered.

"Well I'm tempted." Damon said.

"No. You're not. You've had lifetimes to do it yet, here I am. I'm still alive, and there you are, you're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me, because you loved her. And you torture me because you still do. And that my brother, that is your humanity." Stefan said.

"Salvatore!" They heard Tanner call. "What the hell? We got a game to play."

"If that's my humanity, then what's this?" Damon asked, before running behind Tanner and draining him dry. He dropped the body. "Anyone, anytime, anyplace." He said before disappearing.

* * *

><p><em>He is becoming annoying. <em>Erica thought from the roof.

_Give it time. _Bella said.

_How many must die until then. _Aiden asked.

_Stefan just reached his breaking point. He's planning something._ Bella sent. _Let's go._


	5. Family Ties

**Chapter Four: Family Ties**

"Scum ball, scum bucket." Jenna said, to the TV screen.

"Who are you talking to?" Elena asked walking into the room.

"Him." Jenna said pointing to Logan Fell, the news anchor on TV.

"The news guy?" Elena asked.

"Also known as Logan "Scum" Fell." Jenna said. "Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

"Oh, no way. You and him? He's cute." Elena said glancing back at the screen.

"He is not cute. There is nothing cute about him." Jenna said turning off the TV before looking at Elena. "So what do you have planned today before the ball."

"Bella's coming over to help me get ready." Elena answered.

"No Erica or Angel?" Jenna asked.

"Angel found out that Aiden was just going to use an old tux and freaked. She said that he's huge and his old tux won't fit. And that she refused be seen with him looking like a monkey man and took him shopping for a new tux." Elena explained.

"What about Erica?" Jenna asked.

"Angel took her along to make sure that he doesn't escape." Elena said.

"Well I have a few errands to run, so I'll be back later." Jenna said, grabbing her purse and heading to the door.

"See you tonight." Elena said.

Jenna opened the door, slightly startled to find Bella on the other side before smiling at her. "Hey Bella." She greeted.

"Hello Jenna." Bella said, stepping out of her way.

"Bye guys." Jenna said, making her way to her car.

Bella stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "Okay." She sighed, turning to Elena. "Show me your dress."

* * *

><p>They were in Elena's room, choosing shoes and accessories.<p>

"So how are you and Stefan?" Bella asked curiously.

"We're doing good." Elena said, a little confused by the question. "Why?"

"Just wanna make sure that he's treating you right." Bella explained.

"Well Stefan is a perfect gentleman." Elena said, a smile spreading across her lips.

"And he shall remain so." Bella said. "Because if he screws up, they won't find the body." Bella chuckled.

Elena laughed, her brow furrowing a bit. _Why does she do that? Sometimes she sounds like a normal teenager, but then she suddenly talks like she's from a different time period._ Elena thought. "Are you taking anyone to the ball." She asked.

"I'm having Jeremy escort me. Then he could just ditch whenever he wants." Bella explained.

"Why don't you ever try to find guy? I mean you're beautiful, guys drool when you pass them." Elena asked. _Why don't any of them date?_ Elena thought.

"I just haven't met anyone right for me." _It's not smart for an immortal to fall for a human. No one wants to go through the pain Aiden is going through. To love someone who will only live for such a short time compared to us. _Bella thought.

"I hope you find the right one." Elena said.

"I hope so too." Bella said quietly.

* * *

><p>Bella and Elena met up with the rest of the group at the ball.<p>

"Elena! You look beautiful." Angel gushed.

"I love your necklace." Erica said. _Am I the only one who recognizes this necklace? _She asked through the link.

_No. _Bella's voice came through. _But we'll leave it alone for now._

"You guys look great." Elena said. "Come on, I want you guys to meet Stefan."

_Oh joy. _Aiden thought dryly.

_I thought you were okay with him after he gave vervain to Bella? _Angel asked.

_He's still dating the girl I think of as a little sister. No matter how old he is, there is only one other thing on his mind that's not blood or his love for Elena. _Aiden sent.

_So you're saying that no matter the age, guys are always thinking about sex? _Angel asked.

_Exactly. _Aiden thought.

_So what does that say about you? _Erica asked.

Aiden was silent and the girls chuckled softly before following Elena.

"Stefan." Elena said, linking her arm through his before steering him towards the group. "You've already met Angel and Bella. This is Aiden and Erica. Guys this is Stefan." She introduced.

"Nice to meet you Stefan." Erica said, shaking his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Erica." He said.

"Hey." Aiden said, firmly gripping his hand.

"Hello." Stefan greeted before turning to Elena. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

"Of course." She agreed.

* * *

><p>Bella and Erica wandered around as Angel and Aiden moved to the dance floor. They soon found Elena and Stefan looking at the original guest registry.<p>

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Erica asked as they walked up beside them.

"Hey guys." Elena said. "Take a look at all these familiar names: Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked confused.

_Explain that. _Erica thought.

"The original Salvatore brothers." Damon said as he came into the room with Caroline. "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."

"We don't need to bore them with the past." Stefan said.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to her more about you family." Elena said.

"We'd love to as well." Bella said.

"Well, I'm bored. I wanna dance and Damon won't dance with me. So could I just borrow you date?" Caroline asked Elena.

"I don't really dance." Stefan tried.

"Oh sure he does. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all." Damon cut in.

_This guy is such a dick. _Erica thought.

_I agree._ Bella sent.

"You wouldn't mind; would you, Elena?" Caroline asked.

"It's up to Stefan." she said.

"Well, sorry, but I'm not taking no for an answer." Caroline said before taking Stefan's hand and dragging him out of the room.

_She's been compelled. _Bella thought.

_Don't let Aiden know. _Erica sent.

"You must be Erica." Damon said, taking notice of her.

"I am." She said before turning to Bella. "I'm going to get something to drink." _And to try and run interference with Aiden. _She finished silently before leaving.

Damon stared after her for a moment before turning to Elena. "I want to apologize to you for being such a world class jerk to you the other night when I tried to kiss you." He said. "There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm acting out, trying to punish Stefan."

Bella narrowed her eyes at him, shifting closer to Elena.

"Punish him for what?" Elena asked.

"It's all in the past; I don't even want to bring it up." He started.

"Then don't." Bella cut in, earning a sharp nudge from Elena.

Damon's cut to her before continuing. "Let's just say the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." Damon said. "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town until the war. There was a battle here-"

"The Battle of Willow Creek." Elena interjected.

"Right." Damon said.

"I know we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside." Elena explained.

"What the history books left out was that the people that were killed, they weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to save them they, were shot. Murdered in cold blood." Damon told them.

_Katerina. He doesn't know._ Belle thought. _He needs to find out on his own. _She decided.

_There's no way we could tell him anyway._ Erica sent.

_Why are you listening in? _Bella asked.

_I lost sight of the main founders. I was listening for them when I caught the conversation. _Erica explained.

"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" Elena asked.

"A woman, I guess." Damon said, looking into Elena's eyes. "Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"

Bella was full on glaring at him now.

"Look I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you two, but I can't get in the middle of it Damon." Elena started.

"She won't be in the middle of it." Bella cut in.

"I just hope you two can work it out." Elena finished.

"I hope so too." Damon said.

* * *

><p>Aiden and Angel caught sight of Damon and Elena approaching Stefan and Caroline.<p>

"What did we miss?" Damon asked as they walked up to them.

"Drink Damon?" Stefan asked smiling.

"No thanks I'll pass." Damon said. "I have already had one to many tonight Stefan. Thank you anyway." He finished with a smirk.

_Does anyone smell a surprising amount of vervain? _Erica sent.

_Was this his brilliant plan? _Aiden thought in disbelief.

_I am so disappointed. _Angel thought.

_Just wait for it. _Bella sent.

"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena asked.

"Absolutely." He smiled before taking her hand, leading her to the dance floor.

"They look so cute together." Caroline grinned.

"Don't talk please." Damon growled.

Aiden clenched his jaw.

_Calm down. _Angel sent, placing her hand on his arm.

* * *

><p>"Oh, hey Caroline." Elena said walking into the bathroom, Bella behind her.<p>

"Hey. So how are things with Stefan?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Great, just great." Elena answered.

"Really? Well my radar must be off because I was getting all sorts of other vibes." Caroline said.

_Damon. _Bella thought, rolling her eyes.

"What is that?" Elena asked staring at Caroline's shoulder. Then she tried to move her lace jacket of her shoulder.

"Don't." Caroline urged.

Elena moved her scarf to reveal a bite mark on her neck.

_Oh boy. I'm gonna have to heal those later. _Bella thought.

"Caroline, what happened?" Elena asked, shocked.

"Nothing, okay." Caroline said.

"Nothing" looks like it hurts." Bella said.

"Did somebody hurt you?" Elena asked.

"No, okay it's nothing, it's just….my mom would kill me." Caroline tried.

"Did _Damon _hurt you?" Elena asked.

"No. Of course not. Just leave me alone okay, guys. God." Caroline said before storming out of the bathroom.

Elena stormed out as well with Bella on her heels.

* * *

><p>"There is something seriously wrong with you!" Elena exclaimed as she shoved Damon.<p>

_I wish we weren't in public;_ _I'd wipe the floor with him. _Bella thought.

_Get in line. _Erica sent.

_We need to keep this from Aiden until the ball is finished. I don't think he'll be able to control himself if he found out now. Angel distract him, keep him busy. _Bella ordered.

"You stay away from Caroline or I will go strait to her mother, the sheriff. You got it? Stay away from her." Elena demanded before storming off.

"Damn it Caroline," Damn said angrily before going to find her.

_I'll follow him. _Bella sent. _You guys keep an eye on Elena. _She walked to a secluded area before stopping and glancing around. When she was sure no one was there, she took a deep breath and faded from sight. _It's been a while since I turned invisible._ She thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Damon found her on the stairs and roughly dragged her down them.<p>

"Don't!" Caroline cried. "She took it off and I got flustered okay." she pleaded as Damon turned her to face him roughly. "I didn't know what to say, but I swear, ok, I did not tell her, I just told her that you didn't mean to hurt me." she stuttered.

Damon was having trouble keeping his rage under control.

_Stefan's plan will work. _Bella thought, standing a good distance away from them.

"You make me crazy you know that." he said. "And I like you, but you really know how to piss me off. It's okay I forgive you; unfortunately, I am so over you now." He said before biting into her neck. He pulled away quickly, shocked before letting Caroline drop to the ground. His knees buckled and he collapsed. He opened his eyes and saw Stefan casually walking up to him.

"I knew I couldn't spike your drink, so I spiked hers. It's over Damon." Stefan declared before disappearing with him.

* * *

><p>Bella, still invisible walked over to Caroline. She knelt down and put her hands over her wounds. There was a soft blue glow as Caroline's wounds began to heal.<p>

_I can only heal them halfway. Elena saw too much to heal them all without suspicion. _Bella thought to herself, standing up when she was finished. _You won't remember this. _Bella whispered softly into Caroline's mind. Bella turned, hearing Elena coming out of the house. She sped behind her and made herself visible again.

"There you are!" Bella said with relief.

Elena jumped and turned around. "Where have you been? I was looking everywhere for you." She said.

"I've been looking for you." Bella replied.

"Help me look for Caroline." Elena said, turning around to continue her search.

While Elena and Bella were walking across the grounds they spotted Caroline getting up from the ground.

"Caroline." Elena called.

"We've been looking everywhere for you." Bella said.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked when she saw her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Caroline said.

"Caroline, what happened?" Elena asked, growing more concerned.

"I'm fine." she replied, beginning to hyperventilate.

"No, you're shaking. Caroline, what-?" Elena started.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Caroline kept repeating.

"Caroline, come here, come here." Elena said grabbing Caroline, hugging her as she cried while Bella rubbed her back.

* * *

><p>Erica and Bella stood in the woods outside the Lockwood house, listening to the conversation going on inside.<p>

**"Thank you for staying so late."** Mayor Lockwood said.

**"Did you get the Gilbert watch?"** Sheriff Forbes asked him.

**"She claims it's in her parents' things."** Carol Lockwood said.

**"I can get it."** Logan Fell said.

**"Good, we're gonna need it."** Sheriff Forbes said.

**"Are you sure?"** the mayor asked.

**"Five bodies all drained of blood. I'm certain"** Sheriff Forbes said.

**"They've come back."** Logan concluded.

Bella and Erica looked at each other. _Let's go. _Bella sent before speeding off, Erica on right behind her.

* * *

><p>"How has he been?" Bella asked Angel after returning.<p>

"Angry. He's really _really _angry. He yelled for a bit and put multiple holes in the wall, before going up to his room." Angel said as Erica took a seat next to her.

"I just fixed the holes." Erica said, folding her feet underneath herself.

"When he's calmed down I'll let him know the news." Bella said.

"What news?" They heard Aiden ask behind them.

Everyone turned towards him. "Stefan's plan worked. Damon's in a cell with his body full of vervain." Bella explained.

"But Damon didn't fall for Stefan spiking his drink." Angel stated.

"He didn't." Bella said, looking at Aiden. "That's why he spiked Caroline's."

Aiden's jaw clenched and he began shaking in rage.

"He tried to feed. Stefan picked him up after that." Bella finished.

"And Caroline?" Aiden gritted through his teeth.

"I was able to heal most her wounds. Elena saw some though so I had to leave a few to keep down suspicion." Bella said.

"So what now?" Angel asked.

"Damon's actions have alerted the council." Erica started.

"So even if he tries to cover it up, the will still suspect him. Apart from Stefan, he is the only new face in town. So it's either blood bags or staking." Bella finished.

"That's good." Angel said, looking at the others. "So this is a win?" she asked.

"For now." Bella said. "It's late. Meeting's over." She concluded before starting up the stairs, the others following behind her.


	6. You're Undead To Me

**Chapter Five: You're Undead To Me**

Elena walked downstairs after finding Vicki in the bathroom to find Jenna in the kitchen.

"Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?" Elena asked Jenna.

"Yep." Jenna said nonchalantly.

"And you have no objection?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"He could have been craftier about it. At least make an effort to sneak her in and out. Oh, and just so you know, I won't be home for dinner." Jenna said.

"Ohh. So you're actually going to do it. You're gonna go out with Logan." Elena said.

"Actually, I am gonna show up and torture him." Jenna said. "And have you heard from Stefan?"

"Not since he left that very vague message three days ago." Elena said. "Hi. Um, Elena, I, um…I have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days."

"Nope." Elena said. "And I'm not going it either."

"And you're okay with everything?" Jenna asked.

"No, I'm not okay with any of it, but I'm not gonna cry about it either." Elena said. "I'm not gonna be one of those girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy."

"Okay, then." Jenna said.

"I'll be fine." Elena said.

* * *

><p>"Let's go or I'm leaving without you!" Erica yelled through the house.<p>

"Alright already." Angel said descending the stairs, Aiden behind her.

"Where's Bella?" Erica asked.

"I'm going to check out the boarding house." Bella said coming down the stairs. "I'll meet you guys later."

"What about a ride?" Angel asked.

"I'll just take my bike." Bella said feeling slight excited. _It's been too long since I last rode my motorcycle. _She thought to herself, picturing the black ninja in the garage.

"We'll be at the grill, see you later." Erica said before leaving, the others following after her.

* * *

><p>Bella stood in the woods by the Salvatore house, focusing on hearing what's being said inside.<p>

**"Where's my ring?"** Bella heard Damon choke out.

_Vervain must still be in affect. _She thought.

**"You won't be needing it anymore."** Stefan said.

**"How long have I been here?"** Damon asked weakly.

**"3 days."** Stefan deadpanned.

**"What are you doing?"** Damon asked.

**"During the Dark ages when a vampires actions threatened expose or bring harm to the entire race, they would face judgment."** Stefan explained. **"They sought to re-educate them, rather then to punish them."**

**"You know what will happen if I don't feed on blood."** Damon reasoned.

**"You'll grow weaker and weaker and eventually you won't be able to move or speak. In a week your skin will desiccate, and mummify. A living corpse, unable to hurt anyone. Ever."** Stefan said.

**"So what your just gonna leave me in the basement forever?"** Damon asked.

**"I have injected you with enough vervain, to keep you weak. Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt and in 50 years we can re-evaluate."** Stefan droned.

**"I'm stronger than you think."** Damon said.

**"You always have been, but you're not stronger than the vervain, and we both know it."** Stefan gloated. **"I'm sorry; it didn't have to be this way."** He added, Bella heard footsteps before turning around to run back to the house.

_He shouldn't have taunted him with that vervain remark. Damon's stubborn, he'll try harder now. _She thought.

* * *

><p>Bella pulled up outside the grill, taking her helmet off and shaking her hair out before entering the grill. She saw her friends at a tale before moving to join them.<p>

"Matt still hung up on Elena?" She asked, seeing them playing pool.

"Actually I think he's kinda starting accept that their over." Erica said.

"Poor guy." Angel commented. Out of all of Elena's friends, she liked Matt the most. He really was the perfect guy. Not the blond haired, blue-eyed, quarterback perfect. Though they are good traits for the human girls. But he is someone who will love you with everything he has. Who will always protect you and put your happiness first. _But he's human. I can't fall for him. I can't go through the pain I see Aiden go through everyday. _Angel thought to herself.

"How late is he?" They heard Matt ask.

"Hitting the hour mark." Elena said. "Nothings wrong, though. Which means I'm not talking boy problems with you around, Matt."

"Good. I mean it was not like we were ever best friends or anything." Matt said.

"Okay. Here goes. What do you think of Stefan? Is he a good guy?" Elena asked him.

"Why, what's he done?" Matt asked.

"Not one thing. He's just so secretive all the time. I think there's something that he doesn't want me to know, which makes me want to know." Elena said.

_If he doesn't want her to know what he is, then he should have never gotten romantically involved with her. _Aiden thought.

_Even if they were just friends, she most likely will find out anyway. _Erica sent.

_Look at us. We've been keeping our secret for twelve years. _Aiden retorted.

_We have more practice at blending in then he does. _Angel thought.

_Normally I am on their side, but Damon's arrival and Stefan handling it has made her suspicious. She will know about him very son. We'll have to tell her about us as well. _Bella sent.

That comment made the others pause.

_When? _Angel asked.

_Give or take a few weeks. _Bella thought.

_Great. Just great. _Aiden thought sighing.

"Like, what? That he's a serial killer and keeps a clown suit in his trunk?" Matt asked.

"No, of course not. But what do we know about him really?" Elena asked

"He's great at football. Little bit of a loner. And as much as I hate saying it, he might be a nice guy." Matt said.

"So you think I'm just being paranoid?" Elena asked.

"I think you should talk to him." Matt said.

_He's here. _Erica thought as they sensed Stefan enter.

"Talk to who?" They heard Stefan ask as he came up behind them. "I'm so sorry I'm late."

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"I got held up." he said.

"Is everything okay?" Elena asked.

"There's this thing with my uncle." Stefan explained

_Could he be any vaguer? _Angel thought sarcastically.

"You couldn't call and tell me you're gonna be an hour late?" Elena asked.

"Okay you guys have fun." Matt said, walking away from them.

"I'm sorry. It was unavoidable." Stefan said.

"What was unavoidable?" Elena asked but Stefan remained silent. "Ok." She said as she began to walk away.

"No. Wait please." Stefan said

"No, Stefan, don't you get it? Every question gets a vague non-answer. What is so awful that you're afraid to tell me?" Elena asked.

_That he's vampire who abstains from human blood, making it more dangerous if he's around it. _Aiden thought.

"I know you?" They heard. They turned to see an elderly man approach Stefan, staring at him in awe. "My God." The man said.

"I'm sorry?" Stefan said, confused.

"I know you. How can it be?" The man asked.

The groups' eyes widened.

_How often does he come here to where the elderly can remember his face? _Erica thought incredulously.

"I think you have the wrong person sir." Stefan tried.

"You haven't aged a day." The man said.

"I'm sorry. Excuse me." Stefan said. "Elena, can I take you home and we can talk about it? Is that okay?" He asked.

She nodded and they left the grill together.

_I take back my previous statement. Give or take a few days. _Bella sent.

_I guess we should prepare ourselves._ Angel thought wryly. Before the got up and exited the grill as well.

* * *

><p>The next day was the Sexy Suds Carwash.<p>

"No friend discounts, No freebies. No pay-you-laters. We are not running a charity here." Caroline explained.

"No we are not." Elena said.

"Hi." Stefan said coming up behind Elena.

"Hey." Elena said

"Hey sis." Aiden said as he and Bella came up as well.

"The event is called sexy suds, you know." Caroline said before leaving.

"Well, we've just been scolded and judged." Bella said before taking her shirt off, revealing her blue bikini top. Aiden did they same. Girls around them did a double take. They knew he was well built by his size but being able to see all of his muscles was amazing. He would be getting quite a few cars to wash.

"See you guys later." Aiden said before walking off, Bella in tow.

* * *

><p>Elena was running the paying station when that man from yesterday came up to pay.<p>

"That'll be $20." Elena said.

"Okay." The man said, handing the money over.

"I saw you last night." Elena said, recognizing the man. "You were talking to my friend."

"Well, I thought it was somebody I knew." The man explained.

"Stefan Salvatore?" She asked.

"No. It can't be. It was just my mind playing tricks on me." The man tried to reason.

"Where do you think you'd seen him before?" Elena asked.

"When I first moved here, I lived at the Salvatore boarding house. Stefan was just passing though to visit his uncle. I mean none of us even new until the attack." The man explained.

"The attack?" Elena questioned.

"His uncle got killed. Mauled by an animal in the woods." He said.

"His uncle? Zack?" Elena asked confused.

"No. Joseph." He answered.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm not very familiar with the story." Elena said.

"Well how could you? This happened years ago." He said.

"Grandpa, you gotta go mom wants you home. Okay?" Tiki said coming up behind them. "He wasn't bugging you guys was he? He's a little Alzy-heimer."

"No not at all. He was sweet." Elena said. "Hey, sir, we're sorry but are you sure that the man you saw was Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked

"Yes. I remember his ring and his brother." He said.

"Damon?" She asked.

"Yeah. Stefan and Damon Salvatore." He replied.

"When was this?" Elena asked.

"It was June, 1953." he said. "Yeah June 1953."

Elena looked at him in shock.

* * *

><p>"Your car was done an hour ago." Elena said as she walked up to Jenna.<p>

"And you're saying that out loud why?" Jenna asked.

"Hi. Elena right." He said shaking her hand. "I think I met you once when you were nine."

"Your emotional maturity level when we were together." Jenna quipped.

"Ouch, and here I thought we were making progress." Logan said.

"Is he enough in you good graces that I can ask him for a favor?" Elena asked Jenna

"If I do her a favor will I get back in your good graces?" Logan asked Jenna

"A very reluctant maybe to both." Jenna said dryly.

"Done. Wait." Logan said. "One condition; dinner, tonight, your house."

"Fine but you having leftovers." Jenna sighed.

"Ooh." Login said before turning to Elena. "What do you need?" He asked.

"Do you have access to old news stories? Say; '50s?" she asked him.

"At the station. Between the archives and the internet, we have everything." Logan explained.

"I have this report, way past due. You'd be a lifesaver." Elena sighed gratefully.

"I'm heading there now. Let's go." Logan said.

"If anyone asks you don't know where we went. I don't want Caroline to know that I left." Elena said to Jenna.

* * *

><p>Bella and the others were talking to each other after Bonnie's incident.<p>

Erica looked around, her brow furrowing. "Um, guys? Where's Elena?" She asked.

They looked around and noticed that she was gone.

"Where the hell is she?" Angel asked alarmed.

* * *

><p>"We digitized all our archives last year. You can pull all the remote footage right up on-screen." Logan said leading Elena to a room. "What is it exactly you're looking for?"<p>

"An incident from 1953, if it even happened at the old Salvatore boarding house." she said.

"Sorry, one sec." Logan said when his phone started ringing, "Yeah? Fire? "I'll be right there. I gotta go. Can you believe there's actual news to cover in this town? Use key words to search the database. It's pretty easy to navigate. Brady in Tech will help you with anything you need." He told her.

"Okay." Elena said.

"Oh, hey. Could you put in a good word for me with Jenna?" Logan asked.

"You got it." She said.

"All right. Good luck" he said before leaving.

After he was gone Elena started typing.

"Joseph Salvatore and animal attack." she muttered while typing.

Elena clicked on the link and a video came up.

_This is Franklin Fell reporting from the Salvatore boarding house where an animal attack has ended in tragedy. Hey there bringing out the body see if you can get closer. Is that the nephew?_

"Oh my god." She said as Stefan's face appeared on the screen.

* * *

><p>Stefan returned home to find Zack dead and Damon gone. He grabbed a wooden stake before running out of his room and to the front opened it to find Elena standing there.<p>

"What are you?" Elena asked.

* * *

><p>"So she knows?" Aiden asked.<p>

"I heard she ran into that man last night." Erica commented.

"She was investigating. That's why she was gone." Angel said.

"So do we tell her?" Erica asked.

"No. She's already dealing with a lot, telling her now would overwhelm her." Bella said.

"So we're just supposed to pretend like we don't know anything? Lie to her face even longer?" Angel asked.

"We'll tell her. Now that she knows, a situation is bound to present itself." Bella concluded. "We'll deal with this as we go." She said, before leaving to her room.


	7. Lost Girls

**Chapter Six: Lost Girls**

"What are you?" Elena asked.

"You already know." Stefan said.

"No I don't." She said.

"Yes, you do, or else you wouldn't be here." He said.

"It's not possible, Stefan." Elena tried. "It can't be."

"Everything you know and everything belief you have are about to change." Stefan said. "Are you ready for that?"

"What are you?" Elena asked again.

"I'm a vampire." Stefan said.

"I shouldn't have come." Elena said

"No." Stefan said stepping towards her causing her to back away. "Please, please." He tried.

"No." Elena said before running towards her car.

She only made it halfway before Stefan was standing in front of her, which caused Elena to look behind her.

"How did you do that?" Elena asked.

"Please don't be afraid of me." Stefan said. "There are things you have to know and understand." Stefan said grabbing Elena.

"Let go of me." Elena said.

"Elena, please." Stefan said but she was already running towards her car again.

* * *

><p>"We're going to tail Elena today. Go invisible, unless she tries to contact any of us." Bella ordered.<p>

"Why are we doing this?" Erica asked.

"To make sure she's okay." Bella said. "Now let's go."

They all closed their eyes and took a deep breath, disappearing from sight. The door to the house opened before closing.

* * *

><p>"Okay." Elena said to Stefan. "You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet me here. When you Google vampire you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"<p>

"I can tell you whatever you want to know." He said.

"I know you eat garlic." Elena said.

"Yes." Stefan replied.

"And obviously sunlight isn't an issue." She added.

"We have these rings hat protect us." Stefan said

"Crucifixes?" Elena asked.

"Decorative." Stefan said.

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable."

"Mirrors?"

"Myth."

"You said you don't kill to survive." Elena said

"Animal blood keeps me alive but not as strong as Damon." Stefan said.

"And you let him get involved with Caroline?" She asked

"Forcing Damon to do something is much more dangerous." Stefan said.

"He was hurting her." Elena said.

"He was feeding on her." Stefan said. "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her he would have."

_He'll die before he ever touches her again. _Aiden thought.

"Is that supposed to make it okay?" She asked.

"No. None of this is okay. I know that." Stefan said.

"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" Elena asked.

"No. Not in Mystic alls. Not anymore." He replied.

"Wait. Not anymore?" She asked.

_We didn't stick around much for Katerina's games. _Angel thought.

_Just to make sure she survived, but she had that handled. _Erica sent.

"There was a time when this town was very aware of vampires and it didn't end well for anyone. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone." Stefan explained.

"I can't promise that." Elena said.

"Elena, give me today. I will answer any questions that you have and when it's over you can decide for yourself what you want to do with what you know. It'll be your choice." He explained.

She nodded her head. Stefan asked if he could driver somewhere. She thought for a minute before agreeing.

_Let's move. _Bella sent.

* * *

><p>"Stop here." Stefan said when they were in the middle of nowhere.<p>

_This is where the original Salvatore house was. _Bella sent, recognizing the surroundings.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asked as they got out of the car.

"I wanna show you something." he said.

"In the middle of nowhere?" She asked.

"This didn't used to be the middle of nowhere. It used to be my home."

"It looks so…" Elena started

"Old? It's because it is." He finished.

"Wait. How long have you…?" She questioned.

"I've been 17 years old since 1864." Stefan answered.

_There's no way he's going to mention the most important thing about Katherine. _Angel thought.

* * *

><p>Stefan and Elena walked in to see Jeremy on the ground and Vicki and Matt standing in front of him.<p>

"What is going on here?" Elena asked.

"She's really messed up." Matt said

_That's just great. A druggie in transition. _Erica thought.

"Elena back up." Stefan said moving to stand in front of Vicki. "Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be okay. Come on." He said to Matt and Jeremy.

"You know what's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Yeah." Stefan said

"What is it?" Elena inquired.

"She's transitioning." Stefan answered.

"Transitioning into what, exactly?" She asked.

"A vampire." Stefan said.

"What?" Elena said, astonished.

"Damon must have gotten to her." Stefan figured. "She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."

"How does she do that?" Elena asked.

"She has to feed on human blood." Stefan explained.

"And if she doesn't?" She asked.

"She'll die." Stefan said. "She may only have a few hours."

"She's upstairs with them right now." Elena said, pacing back and forth.

"It's okay. She doesn't know what's happening."

"When will she?"

"Right now she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition the memories will start to come back and then she'll know she has to make a choice." Stefan said

"The same choice you made." Elena said before walking into the kitchen

"Vick." They heard Matt scream as he chased Vicki out the front door. "Vicki!"

They followed him outside but couldn't see Vicki anywhere.

"She was fine and then she just freaked out." Jeremy said.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Matt said. "Call me if you hear anything."

"I can track her." Stefan said to Elena.

"Go." Elena ordered.

_What happens if she completes the transition? _Angel thought.

_Then we'll deal with her. We're not killing a human. If she becomes a danger to Elena, then she will die. _Bella sent.

* * *

><p>"Maybe we should check in with Matt." Jeremy said while they were cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.<p>

"He'll call when he finds her." Elena said.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jeremy asked.

"We wait. We're supposed to wait." Elena replied.

"I don't know what's wrong with her." Jeremy said.

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." Elena tried to console him.

_She shouldn't have lied. _Erica thought before sensing something.

Then the door bell rang and Elena went to the door. When Elena opened the door to reveal Damon, she tried to shut it but Damon was to strong for her.

Aiden tensed.

_He won't try anything. But be ready. _Bella said.

"Jeremy, go upstairs." She said.

"You're afraid of me." Damon said to Elena. "I see Stefan told you too."

"Stay away from me." Elena demanded.

"Hey, hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan. May I come in? Oh, wait, of course I can. I've been invited." He said coming in and closing the door behind him. "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now."

_You'll never get the chance to. _Angel thought, her anger rising.

"That wouldn't serve my greater agenda." he continued. "So where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki." Elena said glaring at him.

"Don't look at me with those judge-y little eyes." Damon said walking closer, making her back up unknowingly standing next to Bella. "Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Katherine?" She asked feeling calmer for some reason.

He just stared before continuing. "Got the whole life story, huh?" he asked.

"I got enough." Elena said.

"Oh, I doubt that." He said before walking towards the front door. "Tell my brother I'm looking for him. Oh, tip for later. Be careful of who you invite in the house."

* * *

><p>Elena was sitting on the porch when Stefan came up to her.<p>

"You're bleeding." Elena said, getting up and walking over to him.

"No, its okay, it's okay. I'm okay." Stefan said. "I couldn't stop her. I tried."

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"She fed. And then I lost her." He said apologetically.

"Oh my god." Elena said.

"I'll take care of it." Stefan said. "I'll find her and I will show her she can live like I do. I will make sure that she doesn't hurt anybody."

_Teaching her to control her urges is better than teaching her to abstain from them. _Bella thought.

_Vampires living off animals is extremely rare. He shouldn't try to force a newborn to live like him. _Angel sent.

_She's a druggie. She will never resist if she knows there's something better. _Erica thought.

"What are we supposed to tell Jeremy and Matt?" She asked.

"We'll come up with a story." Stefan said.

"You mean we'll come up with a lie." Elena replied.

"I'm so sorry." Stefan pleaded.

"I gave you today just like you asked, and I understand that you would never do anything to hurt me. I promise to keep your secret but I can't be with you Stefan." Elena said. "I'm sorry. I just can't." She said before running inside and shutting the door.

* * *

><p><em>You guys go ahead. I'll stay here tonight. Try to keep the nightmares away. <em>Angel sent.

_Be back by sunrise. _Bella thought before leaving, the others following her.

Angel sighed and leant over the sleeping Elena whose face looked stressed. She put her hand to Elena's forehead and watched as her face relaxed.

_It's going to be okay. _Angel softly whispered into her mind.


	8. Haunted

**Chapter Seven: Haunted**

Elena rang the doorbell of the Salvatore boarding house the next day. Bella was standing behind her, once again invisible. She waited a minute before Damon opened the door.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena asked him.

"Yep." He replied, smirking.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"And good morning to you, little miss we're-on-a-mission." Damon said to her.

"How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done?" Elena asked him.

"And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire arrogant and glib?" Damon asked her.

_She has four people who lover that can tear you to shreds in less than a second. She can say whatever she wants. _Bella thought.

"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead." I said.

"Yes, you would." He replied.

"But I'm not." Elena said.

"Yet." Damon said.

_Oh please, you can't even look at her, much less harm her without thinking about Katherine. _Bella thought, rolling her eyes.

"Where is Stefan?" She asked again.

"He's upstairs. Singing ' the rain in Spain.' Knock yourself out." He said before leaving.

She walked inside and closed the door. "Stefan? Stefan?" She called.

"Yes." he said appearing on the stairs

"Where is Vicki?" Elena asked.

"She's upstairs." He said.

"What happens now? Because my brother is searching for her with the rest of the town. What do I tell them?" Elena asked.

"I'm working with her but it's gonna take time. She's a very volatile and impulsive personality." He said.

"So she's a vampire with issues?" Elena asked. "What are we supposed to do? Because we are lying to everyone we care about. What is gonna happen to her?"

"I'm gonna keep her here until I know that she's safe." Stefan said.

"How long is that?" Vicki said from the stairs.

"We can talk about that later." Stefan told Vicki.

"Hey, Vicky. How are you?" Elena asked

"How am I? You're kidding, right?" Vicky asked rudely.

_Little bitch. _Bella thought snidely.

* * *

><p>Bella followed Elena until she was safe with her friends before returning to the house and making herself visible again.<p>

"How was it?" Erica asked.

"We might have to deal with Vicki. That girl will not be able to control herself." Bella explained.

"So we still trail her." Aiden asked.

"We go visibly. It's been a while since she's seen any of us." Bella said.

"So we just act normal?" Angel asked.

"Exactly." Bella replied.

* * *

><p>"You gotta call me, Vick. I don't get it. What's going on with you? Just, just call me, please." Jeremy said.<p>

"Hey." Elena said. "So, um, do you wanna hang out tonight? You could come to the Halloween thing at school."

"Cool. Sure. Sounds fun. Can't wait." Jeremy said trying to leave.

"I know you're upset about Vicki. I heard she called Matt." Elena said. "But you can't be with her. She needs to get better. The best thing you can do for her is let her go."

"What does that even mean? Let her go? Oh, okay, sure. Since you and I are such experts on letting people go." He said.

"I know you may not see it, but trust me Jer, it's for the best." Elena said

"For months after mom and dad died, I felt like crap. Like nothing-really-mattered crap." He said. All of a sudden, I get these moments, and things start to feel a bit better. And Vicki was in every single one of them. So you may not see it, but trust me keeping me away from her is not for the best." He said before leaving.

* * *

><p>Elena ran into Bella and the others.<p>

"No costumes?" She asked, seeing them all wearing black hoodies and gloves.

"These are our costumes." Angel said.

"What are you supposed to be?" She asked confused.

"We're thieves. We're gonna break into everyone's homes while their out." Erica said.

"Creative." Elena said dryly.

"You went with last years costume year's costume too." Matt said coming up to them

"I didn't know I was coming till an hour ago." Elena said.

"Me neither. And you're going as you?" Matt asked Jeremy before he walked off.

"He's not talking to me right now. We got into a fight." Elena said.

"I got into it too with Vick when she got home." Matt said. "I'm trying not to smother her, but part of me didn't wanna let her out of my sight."

"Wait. She's here?" Elena asked.

_Can't the Salvatore's do anything? _Aiden thought.

"Yeah. You can't miss her. She's a vampire." Matt said.

_Ironic. _Angel thought.

"Where did Jeremy go?" Elena asked alarmed.

"Elena, what's the matter?" Matt asked

"I gotta find him." Elena said, walking off.

Matt stared after her before nodding to the others and leaving as well.

Bella turned to them. "I want you guys to keep an eye on things here. Make sure she doesn't go on a rampage. I'll follow Elena." She said before walking in the direction her friend went.

* * *

><p>After a while of looking Elena saw Stefan and Vicki.<p>

"Thank God." Elena said.

"What's the matter?" Stefan asked.

"I lost track of Jeremy, I was worried." She explained.

"What's going on here?" Matt said coming up them.

"Hey. Everything's fine." Stefan told him.

"I told you to quit bothering me." Vicki told Stefan.

"No. Vicki, don't do this." Elena pleaded.

"Matt, he won't leave me alone." Vicki said, acting innocent.

"You need to back off." Matt said to Stefan.

"Matt, its okay." Elena tried.

"No, it's not okay." He said, his eyes never leaving Stefan. "What is your problem?" He demanded.

"Stefan. She's gone." Elena said, noticing Vicki wasn't around anymore. She ran off before he could answer.

* * *

><p>Elena passed through all of the rooms before heading through a door that lead out to the back of the school where the buses were kept.<p>

"No. Aah!" She heard Jeremy yell before grabbing a piece of wood and following his voice.

"Vicki no!" Elena screamed when she found them.

Vicky started to walk toward her and when she was a few feet away Bella appeared behind her, grabbing her and throwing her back into a bus. Elena watched in shock as Vicki ran at her only to be caught around her throat.

"You're really pissing me off. This is your final chance. Go. Home." Bella ordered in a hard voice before throwing her back into the buses.

"Vicki." Jeremy said as Stefan appeared.

"Go get inside." Stefan said. "Go!"

Elena grabbed Jeremy and began to run before Vicki appeared behind them. But before she was able to lay a hand on them, Bella appeared before her, shoving a stake into her chest. Elena and Jeremy turned around to find Bella standing over Vicki's body. Stefan looking at her in shock.

"Vicky!" Jeremy screamed as Vicky started to turn grey and veins started appearing on her face.

"Vicky. Vicky!" He called.

"Get him out of here." Bella told Stefan. Stefan gave Bella a wide berth before stand protectively next to Elena. "I'm not going to hurt her. He's hysterical. Take him home."

Stefan looked at Elena, who was still staring at her long time friend in shock before looking at him. "It's okay." She said. "She won't hurt me." _How was she able to do that? She can't be a vampire; I've grown up with her. She doesn't wear any constant jewelry that allows her to walk in the sun. What is she? _She thought. Stefan nodded, keeping his eyes on Bella before making off with Jeremy.

Bella looked at Elena. "I can't explain everything to you right now. Too much has happened. But I promise, you will get answers from all of us." She said.

"All of us? Aiden, Erica, and Angel. They're like you?" Elena asked, feelings of betrayal began to sink in. _How could they not tell me? _She thought. Tears began to roll down her face as the event of the night began to sink in. Bella took a step forward but felt it was best to keep her distance.

While she was crying Damon came up from behind her.

"Well I se someone else is in on the secret. You should go. I got this." He said.

"You did this." Elena said. "This is your fault."

"You confuse me for someone with remorse." Damon replied.

She tried to push him back but he didn't budge. Then she tried to slap him but he caught my hand.

"None of this matters to me. None of it." He said.

Bella sped over to them, separating Elena from him before backhanding him ten feet into the buses. Bella stood in front of him as he got up, a look of shock on his face. "Well it matters to me. If you know what's good for you, stop with the reckless actions." She said.

Damon's shock turned into rage before he ran at her. Bella caught by the throat before slamming him into the ground, small cracks appearing from the force. Damon groaned and tried to regain is breath, which proved to difficult with Bella's iron grip around his throat.

"You. Don't. Touch. Her." She said in a deadly tone. "I am not a vampire, you know that. You don't know anyway to kill me. You don't have the strength to kill me. Your games end now. You do anything to raise anymore attention, then the only way you will be able to drink blood is through a straw. Are. We. Clear?" She asked, tightening her grip.

"C-Crystal." Damon choked out.

Bella lifted him up and threw him, watching as he rolled across the blacktop. He got up slowly, groaning. She turned to Elena, who was still looking at her in shock before grabbing her hand and dragging her away.

"Elena. Hey, have you seen-?" Matt asked heron their way to the car. "Whoa. What happened?" He asked seeing her expression.

"Nothing. Girl stuff." Bella answered.

"I can't find Vicky." Matt said. "She totally bailed on me."

"I don't know where she is." Elena lied.

"Is this what I'm in for? A lifetime of worrying about her?" Matt asked.

"You're a good brother, Matt." Bella said.

"Yeah." He said. "Maybe she went home."

"Maybe." She said before continuing to the car.

_Meet me at home._ She sent to the others before leaving.

* * *

><p>"Where is he?" Elena asked when they got to the house and saw Stefan.<p>

"Inside." he said, staring at Bella.

Elena headed inside and found Jeremy in his bed. She took a seat next to him.

"Do you understand what happened tonight?" Elena asked.

"No. I don't understand." Jeremy said. "I mean I know what I saw but I don't understand."

"She was going to kill me." Elena said.

"Now she's dead. Vicky's dead." He said.

"I'm so sorry, Jer. I-" Elena tried.

"Just make it stop. It hurts." He pleaded.

"Shh. It's okay. It's okay." She said, trying to comfort him.

"Why does everybody have to die on me?" He asked.

"Oh my God. Come here." Elena said, pulling him into her arms.

* * *

><p>"What are you?" Stefan asked.<p>

"Elena's going to be the first to receive an explanation." Bella said.

"What do you want with her?" He asked.

"To protect her, like I've been doing for the last 12 years." She replied. "If you're worried about her, the others and I would never hurt her. We love her."

Stefan stared at her, his suspicion easing at the truth in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Stefan she came back outside.

"I wanted to help her. But instead, uh…" Stefan started, "How's he doing?"

"He's a mess. I don't want him going through this again." Elena said. "He's just a kid."

"What can I do? What can I do to help? I'll do anything." Stefan said.

"Can you make him forget?" Elena asked.

Bella shook her head.

"Elena…" He paused.

"I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened." Elena said.

"If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work because of who I am, because of how I live." Stefan said. "I don't have the ability to do it right."

"I can do it." Damon said coming onto the porch. "If this is what you want, I'll do it."

"Recovered from that ass-kicking already. I'm loosing my touch." Bella commented.

Damon glared at her then remembered what happened before and looked back at Elena.

"It's what I want." Elena answered.

"What do you want him to know?" He asked Elena.

"I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she's not coming back. That he shouldn't look for her or worry about her. He's gonna miss her but he knows it's for the best." Elena said.

Then Damon headed in side. Elena looked at Bella.

"Not tonight. Come over the house tomorrow. We'll explain everything."

"It's done." Damon said walking back outside.

"Thank you." Elena said to him.

"You're welcome." He said.

Bella watched them leave before nodding to Elena and leaving as well.

* * *

><p>"So she's coming over tomorrow?" Angel asked.<p>

"Yes." Bella said.

"Why did you get to kick Damon's ass?" Aiden asked.

"Because if it were you, you would've killed him." Erica said.

Bella rubbed her hand across her face. "Everyone go to bed." Bella sighed before going to her room.


	9. 162 Candles

**Chapter Eight: 162 Candles**

"You're wallowing." Jenna said, taking a seat next to Elena on the couch.

"So are you." Elena said.

"My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped." Jenna shot back.

"Yeah well, Logan's a jerk." Elena said.

"You didn't get a brush-off e-mail saying, 'I'm leaving town. See you.'" Jenna said.

"Wanna keep it down over there?" Jeremy said from the kitchen table.

"Why? What are you doing?" Jenna asked him.

"Homework." He replied, much to the shock of Elena and Jenna.

"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asked.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…" Jeremy trailed off.

"What do you think? Alien?" Elena asked.

"Some sort of replicant." Jenna said.

"He can hear you." Jeremy said, annoyed.

* * *

><p>Elena was sitting in her bed when she heard a knock on the door, before it opened revealing Bonnie.<p>

"You up?" She asked.

"No." Elena said.

Bonnie went over to her and tried to grab the blanket she was using but she kept pulling it back.

"No, no." Elena protested.

"Why haven't you called me back?" Bonnie asked her.

"I'm sorry." Elena said.

"Are you gonna stay in there forever?" Bonnie asked.

"Yep" Elena replied.

Bonnie stared at her for a moment. "Move over." She said, lying down next to Elena. "I'm officially worried. What's going on?"

"I'm tired of thinking, of talking." _Of finding out that all of my friends have been keeping secrets from me._ She finished silently.

"Can I get a one-line version so I can at least _try_ to be helpful?" Bonnie asked

"Stefan and I broke up." Elena said.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Bonnie asked earning a look of disbelief from Elena. "Right. Stupid question. I know I've been kind of MIA when you needed me the most. I suck."

"You wanna make it up to me?" Elena asked. "Take my mind off of it."

"Just remember you asked for it." Bonnie said getting up.

Bonnie went to close the open window then grabbed scissors off of Elena's desk before grabbing one of her pillow and ripping it open.

"Hey!" Elena said in shock as Bonnie shook the pillow making the feathers fall all over the bed.

"Be patient." Bonnie said.

"Okay." Elena relented.

"I need to swear you to secrecy." Bonnie said.

"It's kinda a bad week for that kind of stuff." Elena said.

"Swear. Because I'm not supposed to be showing you this." She said.

"Okay, I swear." Elena said.

"Okay. There's no windows open right?" Bonnie asked.

"Right." Elena said.

"There's no fan, no air conditioning." She continued.

"None. What are you doing?" Elena asked.

"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?" Bonnie asked.

Elena nodded, then Bonnie put one of her hands over a feather and when she lifted it the feather started to levitate.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asked shocked. _Does everyone have superpowers? _She thought.

Bonnie rubbed her hands together and put them over the feathers and this time when she lifted them eight feathers levitated. Then she lowered her hands causing the feathers to lower as well. Then Bonnie just flicked her eyes up and a bunch of feathers were floating in the air.

"Oh my God." Elena said in awe.

"It's true. Everything my grams told me. It's impossible and it's true. I'm a witch." Bonnie said.

"I believe you." Elena said.

"It's weird, huh? After all this time joking about being psychic. I really am a witch. You don't think I'm a freak now do you?" Bonnie asked worried.

"Of course not." Elena said. "Bonnie, I just don't understand thought. If your grams asked you to keep this a secret, why did you tell me?" She asked.

"You're my best friend. I can't keep secrets from you." Bonnie said. Elena felt a pang of guilt as she thought about Stefan and the others.

_I have to see them today. _Elena thought.

* * *

><p>After Bonnie had left, Elena drove to Bella's house. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After waiting for a minute Bella answered the door.<p>

"Hello Elena." She smiled softly, stepping back and gesturing for her to come in.

Elena stepped inside and Bella led her to the living room, where the others were waiting. After sitting for a moment in silence, Bella began.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." She stated.

"What are you?" Elena asked.

"We are a species that pre-dates history called the fae. We were the first to walk the earth after its creation." Bella explained.

"What about the humans?" Elena asked.

"They are a very young race that came later in time, other species such as vampires following after them. Though there was some conflict in the beginning, the fae decided to locate elsewhere. When the humans began to worship us because of our powers, the council thought it better we leave." Aiden said.

"The council?" Elena asked.

"The humans have many names for them. They're most widely known as the Greek Olympians." Erica said.

Elena paused in shock. "If the fae moved, how come you guys are still here? How old are you?" She asked.

"We haven't been around from the very beginning but we are very old. I'll keep our exact age hidden as to keep you from going into shock." Bella said.

"And to answer your other question, the council allowed some of us to stay. The majority of us didn't think of ourselves as gods. We actually like humans. Watching you grow, your culture, your advancements. So we asked to stay and they let us." Angel said.

"So there's just a bunch of fae walking around looking like everyday people?" Elena asked.

Their faces grew somber. "No." Bella said. "The longer we stayed, the more we saw of humans. Their wars, their misdeeds, how horrible they were capable of being. The fae grew disgusted. They didn't understand why the humans did this to each other. To discriminate and kill over race, religion, anything they didn't accept. They asked the council if they could leave and they were granted their return. We're the only ones who chose to stay." Bella explained.

"Why? If humans were so horrible, why did you choose to stay?" She asked.

"Because we saw more. We saw the love humans held for each other. How some will sacrifice everything for the people dear to them. It's amazing." Erica said.

Elena was silent, preparing herself for her next question. "Why did you guys come to me? Ever since I was a kid, you've always been there for me. Why?" She asked.

"You had an ancestor who was very dear to us. She knew of our kind. Before she died she asked us to protect her descendents. And ever since then we have." Bella explained.

Elena looked down. "So you're only here to protect me. And then what? You move onto whoever's next." She asked quietly.

Angel looked stricken. "No!" She said.

"Elena we love you." Erica added.

"You're a sister to us." Aiden said.

Bella walked across the living room, kneeling in front of Elena. "Do you remember what I said when I gave you that bracelet?" She asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_"This is a gift from all of us. To show that we will never leave you. Even if at sometime that you may not want us there, we'll always protect you." Bella said._

_"Bella…where is all this coming from? Did something happen?" Elena asked._

_"This conversation will make a lot more sense in time." Bella said, grabbing Elena's wrist and securing the bracelet around it. "Just know that we love you." Bella said, giving Elena a brief hug._

**End Flashback**

* * *

><p>"Yes." Elena said.<p>

"I meant what I said, we _do _love you. And we will always protect you. Even if you ask us to leave, we will always be watching from a distance." She said, standing up and backing away. "The decision is yours."

Elena stared at her before standing as well. "I would never want any of you to leave. " She said, looking at all of them. "You guys are my family. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you."

Angel gave a bright smile before rushing forward, bringing Elena into her arms. The others quickly joined in, making a group hug.

When they broke apart Elena wiped a few escaped tears before smiling. "I love you guys." She said.

"So do you have any plans today?" Erica asked.

"Um, yeah, I actually needed to see Stefan." She said.

"I'm going with you." Bella said.

"He's not going to hurt me." Elena protested.

"Oh, I know that. But I don't trust Damon." She said. "Which is why I'm going with you."

"Fine." Elena said.

* * *

><p>Elena rang the doorbell when they arrived at the boarding house.<p>

"It's open. Come on in." A female said.

Bella and Elena looked at each other before going inside. When they entered they were met by a girl wearing only a towel.

"Oh, my god." She said, shocked when she saw Elena, "How-? Uh, who?"

"I'm Elena." Elena said feeling awkward at the sight of a girl in Stefan's house.

"Bellinda." Bella introduced herself.

"Who are you?" Elena asked her.

"Lexi. A friend of Stefan's." Lexi said.

"Is he here?" Elena asked.

"He's in the shower." Lexi said. "Do you wanna wait?"

"No." Elena said, feeling her heart break.

"I'll tell him you stopped by." Lexi said.

"That's okay." Elena said before leaving.

Bella stayed, staring at Lexi. "It was nice to meet you." She said before she began leaving. "I'd plan on staying inside for the rest of your stay."

* * *

><p>"Hello Stefan." Bella said after answering the door.<p>

"Hi. Is Elena here?" Stefan asked.

"Elena!" Bella called, stepping back to let Stefan inside.

Elena came down the stairs, stopping at the end.

"Hey." Stefan said to her.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Lexi said you guys came by and that you seemed upset." Stefan said.

"Right." Elena said. "The girl in the towel."

"The towel?" Stefan asked confused. "Oh no. No, no, no. Not like that, no. She's not exactly a girl. Lexi's, um…She's 350 years old." Stefan said

"You mean she's a -?" Elena asked.

"And she's my oldest friend. Nothing romantic. Ever." Stefan said.

"Oh. Okay, well, she kept staring at me. It was weird." Elena said.

"Well, you know, I've talked about you. A lot. So I guess she felt like she knew you." Stefan said. "So why did you guys stop by?" Stefan asked.

"It was a mistake." Elena said.

"Elena, talk to me." Stefan said.

"I can't. Stefan, I can't, and that's the problem." Elena said. "We're keeping all these secrets from everyone. I can't even tell my best friend. Do you know how hard that is?"

"I want you to know that I will always be here for you." Stefan said. "You can come to me about anything, okay?"

"Well thank you for coming by." Elena said.

"Hey, do either of you need a ride to the Grill tonight?" Stefan asked.

"Are you going to Caroline's party?" Elena asked.

"Lexi's dragging me. And it's my birthday." Stefan said.

"Really?" Elena asked.

Stefan nodded.

"Wow. Happy birthday then." Elena said.

"Happy birthday Stefan." Bella said.

"Thank you." Stefan said.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna stay in tonight." Elena said.

"Okay." Stefan said, hiding his sadness. "Bella?" He asked.

"Where she goes I go." Bella replied.

"Have a good night." Stefan said to Elena before leaving.

Elena headed up to her room, Bella following.

"You should go." Bella said when they entered her room.

"Why do you even want me to? I mean, Stefan's a vampire. Shouldn't you want me to stay away from him?" Elena asked.

"Stefan may be a vampire, but he cares about you." Bella said. "Just try. If you can't handle it, we'll keep him away from you."

Elena looked at Bella before nodding.

* * *

><p>Elena and Bella were standing together, watching the others have dance.<p>

"Just try to have fun." Bella said, smiling lightly, before it was wiped off her at the sight of Damon heading towards them.

"Stefan smiles. Alert the media." Damon said coming to stand next to Elena.

"You haven't given him a lot of reasons to be happy lately." Elena said.

"No, you're right. Poor Stefan. Persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother." Damon said. "Does it get tiring, being so righteous?"

"It flares up in the presence of psychopaths." Elena shot back.

"Ouch. Well, consider this psychopath's feelings hurt." Damon said mocked hurt.

"What did you do to my brother?" Elena asked.

"I'm gonna need a less vague question." Damon said.

"When you did what you did to Jeremy's memories of Vicky, what else did you do to him?" Elena clarified.

"You asked me to take away his memories of fangs and rawr and all the bad stuff. You wanted me to take away his suffering." Damon said.

"But he's acting different. He seems okay with everything." Elena said. "You sure you didn't do something else?" Elena asked.

"Elena, I took away his suffering." Damon said.

After that Elena left leaving Damon and Bella by themselves.

"You compelled him to come to terms with his parents' death. To make his life better by being the kid he was before." Bella stated.

"Well aren't you smart?" Damon smirked.

"Don't assume that I'm the only one of my kind. There happen to be multiple people who could kick your ass just as easily as I did." She said.

"I figured your little Scooby Gang was the same as you." Damon said.

"And you can't turn the council against us. They've watched us grow up." Bella said.

"How does that work? Because I have a feeling that you're older then 17." Damon asked.

"We have many talents. The point of this conversation?" Bella asked rhetorically. "Don't mess with us. I told them not to kill you, but they like technicalities."

"Meaning?" He asked.

"Meaning that you could live without arms and legs." Bella said before walking away.

* * *

><p>"Ah! The famous Elena." Lexi said coming up to Elena and Bella.<p>

"Hello." Bella said.

"Towel girl." Elena said.

"I've been called worse." Lexi said.

"I didn't know you guys could drink." Elena said pointing to the glasses Lexi was holding.

"Oh, yeah. It helps curb the cravings. But makes for a lot of lushy vamps." Lexi explained.

"You know, I've never seen Stefan drunk." Elena said.

"It's pretty funny." Lexi said.

"Stefan always seems so-" Elena paused trying to find the right word.

"Uptight?" Lexi supplied.

"Yeah." Elena said. "But not with you."

"Well, that's the benefit of knowing someone for over a hundred years. You can just be yourself." Lexi said.

"Yeah, he can't be himself with me." Elena said looking down.

"In time." Bella said.

"She right. The first step was him telling you. The rest comes with time." Lexi said.

"You seem so sure." Elena said.

"The love of my life was human. He went through what I imagine what you're going through, Elena. Denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day love really did conquer all." Lexi said with a smile.

"I'm scared." Elena said.

"But you're here. Because you're crazy about him." Lexi said. "I get it, okay? I mean what's not to love?" Lexi said looking over at Stefan. "Listen; take it from someone who's been around a long time. When it's real you can't walk away." Lexi said before downing her drink and starting to walk away.

"Hey Lexi." Elena called. "It was really nice meeting you."

"I agree." Bella said.

Lexi smiled at them before walking back to where Stefan was playing pool.

* * *

><p>"All right, the drinks are a bribe. I need you to answer a question." Lexi said to Damon. "What are you really doing in Mystic Falls?"<p>

"Have you tried the brittle? Wins awards." Damon said.

"Cut the crap." She said.

"Okay. I have a diabolical master plan." Damon said.

"What is it?" Lexi asked.

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be very diabolical would it?" Damon asked.

Suddenly Sheriff Forbes came up to them and stuck a syringe in Lexi.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, feigning shock.

"Thank you for the vervain. Now if you'll excuse me." Sheriff Forbes said before taking off with Lexi.

Stefan and Elena caught sight of what was happening and followed them.

"Can't get out this way." A man said when they tried to go through the exit.

* * *

><p>When they found an exit at the back of the Grill they arrived to the sound of gunshots. They saw Lexi; she was slowly approaching the sheriff. She was about to attack when Damon came out of nowhere and stabbed Lexi in the chest with a stake. Elena almost screamed but Stefan covered her mouth.<p>

"Oh, my god." Stefan whispered before he removed his hand from Elena's mouth. They didn't notice Bella and Aiden come up behind them.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked the sheriff.

"Thank you. Get it in the car, quickly." she said.

"Yeah." Damon said.

Stefan and Elena watched as they moved Lexi's body from the shadows.

* * *

><p>"So he killed her to get them off the trail <em>he <em>started?" Angel asked.

"Pretty much." Aiden said.

"What about Stefan?" Erica asked.

"He's very upset." Bella said. "Look, it's been a long day, let's just head to bed."

The others followed her up the stairs, each going to their separate rooms.


	10. History Repeating

**Chapter Nine: History Repeating**

"Have you even talked to Bonnie?" Elena asked Caroline while they were walking to class.

"No. I'm mad at her." Caroline said. "She needs to make the first move."

"Be the bigger person." Elena advised.

"Ugh, impossible in her presence." Caroline said.

"Why are you so mad at her again?" Elena asked.

"She's a thief, that's why. I gave her my necklace and she refuses to give it back." Caroline said. "It's a matter of principle."

"All right, I tried. I'm officially out of it." Elena stated.

"Good. Your turn. Where's Stefan? Have you talked to him?" Caroline asked.

"He's avoiding me." Elena said.

"Why?" Caroline asked.

"It's complicated." Elena said, hearing the bell ring. "I'll see you later." Elena said before heading to class.

* * *

><p>"Good morning ,everyone." Said the new teacher as he walked though the door after Bonnie. "Alrighty. Alaric Saltzman. It's a mouthful, I know. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue." He said. "Saltzman is of German origins. My family immigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I however was born and raised in Boston. Now, the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough. You'll probably want to pronounce it Alaric but its <em>Alaric <em>okay? So you can call me Rick. I'm you're new history teacher." He introduced himself.

* * *

><p>"And then I ended up at the remains of old Fell's church before I woke up back in the woods." Bonnie described hr dream to Elena after school.<p>

"And you always see your ancestor Emily?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Do you guys believe in ghosts?" Bonnie asked her.

"Two weeks ago, I'd say no, but now-"Elena started, trailing off.

"I think I'm being haunted." Bonnie said.

"I don't get it. Why Emily?" Elena asked.

"Grams said she was a powerful witch in the civil war days and that this medallion was hers. It's a witch's talisman." Bonnie said.

"And it all started when you got the necklace?" Elena asked.

"I think she's using it to communicate with me." Bonnie said.

"What does Grams say about it?" Elena asked.

"I can't call her. She's gonna tell me to embrace it and I don't want to embrace it. I want it to stop." Bonnie said.

_She really needs help with this. Bella said that Bonnie will know in time. How about now? _"I think I know who we can call." Elena said.

* * *

><p>"So how is Bella going to help with this?" Bonnie asked as they drove to Elena's house.<p>

"She knows a lot about this stuff." Elena said.

"Is she a witch? Has she been practicing longer?" Bonnie asked, confused about what Bella could know about the supernatural.

"No, they're not witches…She'll explain it to you later." Elena told her.

"Wait a minute, they? Angel, Erica, and Aiden know about this stuff too?" Bonnie asked, shocked.

"Yeah, can we talk about something else? You mentioned Damon earlier." Elena said, trying to change the subject.

"Damon." Bonnie said, shivering slightly. "He's bad news Elena. He really scared me."

"You need to stay as far away from Damon as possible." Elena said.

"I'm trying. He just keeps showing up." Bonnie said

"I don't want you to be alone tonight. You're sleeping at my house tonight." Elena said. "We can make a whole night out of it."

Bonnie looked down at her necklace before turning into some grass.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked when Bonnie got out of the car.

Bonnie then ripped the necklace from her neck and threw it as far as she could before getting back in the car.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"Now I am. All of my problems are because of that thing. Can't believe I didn't do that sooner." Bonnie said, relieved.

"What's your grams gonna say?" Elena asked.

"Grams isn't the one being haunted by a 150-year-old ghost, is she?" Bonnie asked.

* * *

><p>Elena heard a knock and opened the door to reveal Stefan.<p>

"Thanks for coming. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't important." Elena said.

"I know that." Stefan said.

Elena stepped outside so Bonnie couldn't hear them.

"He threatened her Stefan." Elena said.

"What would Damon want with Bonnie?" Stefan asked her.

"She has this necklace. Caroline got it from Damon and then she gave it to Bonnie and now Damon wants it back." Elena explained. "He's tormenting her."

"Over a necklace." Stefan said dubiously.

"But it's not just any necklace. It has to do with Bonnie's heritage. It belonged to one of her ancestors who lived here during the civil war. When you and Damon lived here." Elena said.

"Her name was Emily." Stefan said. "She was Katherine's handmaid, and a witch." Stefan said

"You know?" Elena asked. "About Bonnie?"

"The first night that you invited me over for dinner, I made the connection." Stefan said.

"And now Damon knows. And for some reason he wants that necklace." Elena stated.

"What does it look like?" Stefan asked.

"It's an antique iron setting with-" She started.

"With an amber crystal." Stefan finished. "I know it. It belonged to Katherine. Emily gave it to Katherine, which means that-?" Stefan paused.

"What?" Elena asked

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out. Let me talk to Damon." Stefan said.

"Will he tell you?" Elena asked.

"I'll get it out of him." he said before leaving.

Elena went back inside.

* * *

><p>Elena and Caroline were getting dinner ready when Bonnie came into the kitchen. Elena gave Caroline a look.<p>

"I'm sorry. There, I said it. If you want the ugly necklace, keep it. It's yours." Caroline said.

"Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?" Bonnie asked her.

"You threw it away?" Caroline asked.

"I know it sounds crazy. The necklace was giving me nightmares." Bonnie said.

"You could have given it back to me." Caroline said.

"Why? So you could give it back to Damon?" Elena asked her before hearing a knock. "I'll get it." Elena said wanting to get away from the conversation.

* * *

><p>She opened the door to reveal Bella.<p>

"Hey, thanks for coming." She said, letting Bella in and closing the door.

"Well you said you needed my help." Bella said walking towards the kitchen, Elena following behind her.

"Screw Damon. Are we doing manicures or what? Who has there kit?" They heard Caroline say as they entered the kitchen.

"Mine's in my bag." Bonnie said.

"So, Elena, how long do you think this fight with Stefan is gonna last? Is it like a permanent thing?" Caroline asked opening Bonnie's bag.

"I don't know, Caroline." Elena said.

"Why are you such a little liar Bonnie?" Caroline asked, annoyed.

"What?" Bonnie asked Caroline.

"Caroline." Elena said with shock at her friend.

Then Caroline held up the necklace that Elena had seen Bonnie throw away herself.

"I'm not lying to you, Caroline. I swear." Bonnie said.

"It's true. I watched her throw it into a field." Elena said.

"Then explain it." Caroline demanded.

"Emily?" Bonnie asked Elena.

"In part." Bella said. "Many witches pass their crystals down their bloodline. It's a useful thing to have if you don't have a lot of power. Crystals are used to store and enhance power, as well as being a base for spells." Bella explained.

Bonnie stared in shock.

"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.

"The ghost." Bonnie said, still looking at Bella.

"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" She asked sarcastically.

"Caroline, please. Elena said.

"I wonder why she won't leave me alone." Bonnie said.

"Okay, what is going on? Why am I not a part of this conversation?" Caroline asked angrily. "You guys do this to me all the time."

"That's not true." Elena protested.

"Yes it is." Bonnie insisted. "I can't talk to you, you don't listen." She told Caroline.

"That's not true." Caroline said.

"I'm a witch." Bonnie stated.

"And don't we all know it." Caroline snarkily replied.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it." Bonnie said before walking away.

"I listen. When do I not listen?" Caroline asked.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie?" They heard Caroline say in the other room. "Look, it's just not me. Okay? I don't believe in the 'woo woo'. But if you do then, okay, I'm in. That's all it takes for me to jump onboard. Because I consider you my best friend. And I'm saying this knowing that Elena and Bella are in the kitchen listening to my every word." She said. "Look, I didn't know how real this was for you. But I'm listening now. Okay?"<p>

"Okay." Bonnie said.

"You guys can come in now, we're done." Caroline yelled.

Elena and Bella walked into the living room where Bonnie and Care had been talking, and sat down.

"Well, there is just way to much drama in this room." Caroline said. "So what do you guys want to do?" She asked. "I have an idea. Why don't we have a séance?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Bonnie said uneasily.

"Come on. Let's summon some spirits." Caroline insisted. "This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do."

Elena looked at Bonnie who looked as if she didn't want to do this, and then looked at Bella who nodded that it was okay.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later they were up in Elena's room sitting in a circle with candles in the center.<p>

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Elena said.

"I just want to explain that before we start this, that reaching for spirits is a bit iffy." Bella said.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, if Emily has been bothering you, it could mean that she has unfinished business on earth. It could get a little crazy." Bella said.

"Crazy?" Bonnie asked nervously.

"Be quiet and concentrate." Caroline said. "Okay, close your eyes."

The girls followed her instructions.

"Okay, now take a deep breath. Bonnie call to her." Caroline instructed.

"Emily. You there?" Bonnie asked.

They all opened their eyes to look at her.

"Really? Emily, you there?' That's all you got?" Caroline asked. "Come on."

"Mean it." Bella said.

"Fine, jeez." Bonnie said before they closed their eyes.

"Emily." Bonnie started. "I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen."

Suddenly the flames of the candles rose and they all broke apart.

"Did that just-?" Elena started to ask.

"Yes." Bella said calmly.

Caroline gasped and started rubbing her arms when the room suddenly got cold.

"It's just the air conditioning." Bonnie said, not wanting to believe the truth.

The flames rose again.

"Ask her to show you a sign." Caroline said. "Ask her." When Bonnie said nothing, Caroline continued. "Emily, if you're among us, show us a sign."

Nothing happened.

"See it's not working." Bonnie said.

After a moment of silence Elena's window busted open.

"No. I can't. I'm done." Bonnie said, getting up and throwing her necklace on the ground near the candles.

Suddenly the candles went out and the room plunged into darkness.

"Get the light on. Please, get the light on." Bonnie said, panicking.

"Hold on, I got it." Elena said before she turned on the light. She looked down to where Bonnie had thrown her necklace. "Uh guys." Elena said, pointing to the empty space.

"The necklace, it's gone." Bonnie said. "Okay, fun's over. Caroline. You made a point and we get it. Now give it back."

"I didn't take it." She said.

Elena froze when she looked into the hallway.

"What? What happened?" Caroline asked her.

"I don't know. Nothing. Jeremy, are you home?" Elena said walking into the hallway.

"Um..." Bonnie said walking towards the bathroom. "Guys?"

They all turned towards her and started to walk towards the bathroom. Bonnie bent down and picked something up but before she could show them what it was the door closed and she started screaming. Elena and Caroline started pounding on the door, while Bella sat calmly at the other side of the room.

"Bonnie?" Elena called.

"You guys, open the door!" Bonnie screamed.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked. "Bonnie!"

"I'll try the other door" Elena said, running into the hallway.

"Bonnie?" Caroline called again.

"Please open the door!" Bonnie yelled.

"Bonnie." Elena said trying to open the door.

"Open the door!" Bonnie yelled.

"Bonnie. Bonnie?" Elena called.

"Please open the door!" Bonnie screamed.

Then the lights started to flicker and Bonnie continued to scream. Elena gave up on this door and headed back into the room.

"Open the door!" Caroline yelled.

Suddenly the lights stopped flickering and the door opened slowly to reveal Bonnie who had her head in her hands.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Elena asked worried.

Bonnie lifted her head.

"I'm fine." She said.

"Unbelievable. You were totally faking it." Caroline said in disbelief.

"Caroline, come on." Elena said.

"No, you scared the hell out of me." Caroline said before walking off.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine." she said. "Everything's fine."

"I can't believe I fell for it." Caroline said.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie again.

"I must go." Bonnie said.

"If she's leaving, I'm leaving." Caroline said.

"You guys can't leave." Elena tried.

"I can. I've had enough fake witch stuff for one night." Caroline huffed.

"Thank you for having me. I'll take it from here." Bonnie said.

"You're welcome." Bella said softly.

Bonnie stared at Bella before bowing hr head for a moment and leaving the room.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Back to where it all began." Bonnie said.

"Bonnie." Elena said. "Bonnie? Oh, my God. Emily?" Elena called.

'Bonnie' turned around.

"I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed." Emily said before she ran out the door.

"Wait." Elena said before she ran down the stairs.

When she got to the door she tried to open the door but it was locked.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked as she and Bella came down the stairs.

"I don't know. The door, its not-" Elena started.

Then Jeremy came through the door making her scream.

"What the heck?" he asked walking past us.

"I'm out of here." Caroline said before walking out of the door.

"Elena we need to go after Bonnie. I want you to call Stefan and tell him she's going to the old cemetery. That's where Emily always brought her in her dreams." Bella said, grabbing her keys.

"Why didn't you help when Bonnie was locked inside the bathroom?" Elena asked.

"Bennett witches are extremely loyal to each other. Emily will never hurt Bonnie." Bella explained as they sped down the road. "Wait until Stefan gets here." She said as they came to a stop and then exited the car, running into the woods at a supernatural speed.

* * *

><p>Bella leaned on a tree as she watched Emily and Damon.<p>

"Hello, Emily." Damon said. "You look different."

"I won't let you do it." Emily said.

"We had a deal." Damon said.

"Things are different now. I need to protect my family." Emily said.

"I protected your family. You owe me." He said in a hard voice.

"I know, I'm sorry," She said.

"Your about to be a lot more than that," Damon exclaimed as he ran forward.

Emily used her powers and rammed him against a branch, stabbing him stomach.

Just then Stefan ran up and got him down.

"Ah that hurts." Damon moaned. "This is why I kill people."

"Stefan." Emily greeted

"Hello Emily." He responded.

"Emily I swear to god!" Damon exclaimed as he got up.

"I won't let you unleash them into this world." she said.

"Them?" Stefan asked. "What part of the story did you leave out Damon?"

"What does it matter?" Damon asked.

"Emily, tell me what you did?" Stefan commanded.

"To save her, I had to them." she said cryptically.

"You saved everyone in the church?" He questioned.

"With one come all," she said.

"I don't care about them, I just want Katherine." Damon growled, standing.

"This isn't about love is it? It's about revenge" Stefan grabbed him.

"They're mutually exclusive." Damon said and tried to get past him, but Stefan shoved him back.

"You can't just bring them back!" Stefan shouted at him.

"This town deserves this" Damon stated.

"You are blaming innocent people for something that happened over a hundred years ago." Stefan protested.

"There is nothing innocent about you people" Damon yelled.

"Things are different now." Emily said.

"Don't do this." He pleaded.

"I can't free them." she explained. "I won't. Incendia!" She cried as flames erupted from the ground.

"No!" Damon cried.

"Bonnie!" Came Elena's voice.

Emily threw the crystal into the sky and it exploded.

Damon ran forward to attack Bonnie but Bella intercepted him, shoving a tree branch through his stomach. Damon groaned, his knees buckling before she harshly yanked the branch out, throwing him towards Stefan.

* * *

><p>Bella entered her home after comforting Elena about Stefan's decision to leave.<p>

"You look like you had a busy night." Angel observed.

"What happened?" Aiden asked.

"Long story. I'll tell you tomorrow." Bella said, trekking up the stairs. "Goodnight."

"Night." Erica called, looking at the others.


	11. The Turning Point

**Chapter Ten: The Turning Point**

"Jeremy's got his sketch pad out." Elena said coming down the stairs to the kitchen.

"You're kidding." Jenna said.

"Nope. But don't say a word." Elena said. "The minute we encourage him, he'll put it away."

"Psychology major." Jenna said pointing to herself. "Check that."

Elena checked her phone before instantly putting it down.

"And you and Stefan? Update?" Jenna asked Elena.

"He knows how I feel and where I stand. And I know where he stands, but it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away." Elena said.

"Where's he going?" Jenna asked.

"I've stopped asking questions. The answers get scary." she said.

"Okay. Yours leaves mine returns." Jenna said.

"Logan?" Elena asked.

"He's back." Jenna said. "I didn't let him past the front door."

"Three strike rule, Jenna. You're not even allowed to watch the news." Elena said.

"Exactly. No more Logan 'Scum' Fell." Jenna said.

* * *

><p>"Did I miss something?" Elena asked Bonnie, Bella, Angel, and Erica as they walked down the hall.<p>

"They've been hanging out." Bonnie said, looking at Caroline and Matt who were further down the hallway.

_Aiden's been burying himself in school and sports to avoid thinking about them. _Angel sent, feeling a pang of hurt at the sight. _Stop thinking about him. _She scolded herself.

_But he can't help but be glad that Matt's with her. He knows that he will truly care for her and not hurt her. _Erica thought.

_Better him then Damon. _Bella sent.

"Well, I didn't see that one coming." Angel voiced.

"She needs someone nice like him." Elena said.

"As opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, how are you doing with all of that?" Elena asked.

"Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now." Bonnie said. "But I'm grateful to you Bella."

"No problem Bonnie." Bella said, thinking back to when they explained their secret to her. She took it a lot better than expected.

_Maybe there's hope for her judgy bloodline yet. _Erica joked.

"Have you seen Stefan?" Erica asked Elena.

"Not since he told me he was leaving. For all I know, he's already gone." Elena said.

"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." Bonnie said.

"Yes, he would. He thinks he's protecting me. Clean break and all that." Elena said.

"That's very _Twilight _of him." Angel quipped.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Bonnie asked, ignoring Angel's comment.

"What am I supposed to do?" Elena asked. "I already begged him to go. If I ask again, I'm being selfish." Elena said.

"Maybe it's for the best." Bonnie said.

"Why?" Elena asked

"I mean, what kind of future could you have had with him, even if he stayed?" Bonnie asked.

_That's a very good question. They need to discuss this matter in the future. _Bella sent.

_You mean if he stays? _Erica asked.

_He's a Salvatore in love with an exact copy of Katherine; of course he's going to stay. _Angel thought.

Then a banner that said 'Promise you future' on it fell in front of them.

"Did you just-? Elena asked Bonnie.

"No, I swear." Bonnie said.

Elena stormed off.

"Don't worry about it." Bella said as they continued down the hallway.

* * *

><p>Everyone was at the career fair that night at school.<p>

Bella leaning against the wall when Stefan approached her.

"Logan Fell is a vampire and he's here." Stefan whispered urgently.

Bella straightened up and quickly sent a message to the others. "We need to find him, but he's a well known face so we need to lure him out. He knows you and Damon, if you approach him, he'll be on the offensive."

They were outside after finding out that Logan has Caroline.

"I'm going after him." Aiden growled.

"You can't. You have to keep up appearance, and everyone has been asking about going into a sports career. They're going to be looking for you." Erica said.

Aiden was trembling in rage.

"Damon can handle it. Logan's angered him, he won't let him live." Stefan tried to calm him.

"Everyone get back inside, I'll track him." Bella said, walking to her motorcycle.

* * *

><p>She only made it to Damon and caught the end of the show. Damon letting Logan go, in exchange for information about the tomb. She could hear Caroline's heartbeat though. It was still strong. She sent a message to the others and decided to ride around for a while.<p>

* * *

><p>Bella was riding down the road when she saw Elena's car coming. A hooded figure suddenly appeared in front of it. Elena swerved and the car rolled over, landing upside down.<p> 


	12. Bloodlines

**Chapter Eleven: Bloodlines**

Bella discarded her bike and ran towards the car as the vampire began running away. Elena was still screaming when Bella crouched down next to her.

"Elena it's okay. I'm here and I'm gonna get you out okay?" She soothed her as Damon suddenly appeared next to them.

"Bella. Damon." Elena whimpered. "It's my seatbelt. It's stuck."

Bella opened the door.

"We're going to get you out of here. I want you to put your hands on the roof. Just like that." Damon explained as she did as asked. "Ready?"

"I'm going to count to three and Damon will rip the seatbelt." Bella explained. "One, two, three."

Damon reached up and broke the seatbelt before he gently dragged her out of the car.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked as she checked her head for injury.

"Can you stand?" Damon asked. "Is anything broken?"

He set her in a standing position but as soon as he did her knees gave out.

"Whoa, you're fading fast Elena." Damon said as he caught her.

"Elena, look at me. Focus. Look at me." Bella said.

"I look like her." she said.

"What?" Damon asked, before she blacked out.

* * *

><p>Damon carried her to his car before walking back over to the wreck.<p>

"Help me with this, will you?" He said to Bella as he grabbed a side of the car.

Bella grabbed the other side before lifting; carrying the wreck into the woods, out of sight.

"Where do you plan on taking Elena?" She asked, bringing her bike over as well.

"Why do you think that I won't return her safely home?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because you're a dick and it's the best way to piss of Stefan." Bella said matter-of-factly.

"Well yeah, but why are you letting me?" Damon said.

"Besides the fact that I'm coming with you? Elena just found out about Katherine and Stefan won't give her the space she needs to deal with it." Bella stated.

"You know about Katherine?" Damon asked.

"I _know _Katherine. She probably doesn't remember me. I met her while she was human." Bella said.

"How old did you say you were?" Damon asked.

"I didn't." Bella stated, walking towards the car.

* * *

><p>"Sitting in the back?" Damon asked when Bella joined Elena in the back seat.<p>

"I need to check for any other injuries and heal her so she doesn't have a concussion." Bella said, while sending a message to the others.

"Well get comfortable. It's gonna be a long ride." Damon smirked.

* * *

><p>Elena woke up in the backseat seat of a car against Bella's shoulder. She saw Damon driving.<p>

"Morning." Damon said.

"Where are we?" Elena asked.

"Georgia." Damon answered.

"Georgia?" She asked. "No. no we're not. Seriously Damon, where are we?"

"He's being serious. We're in Georgia." Bella said.

Elena groaned.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asked.

"I just…" She trailed off.

"Well there's no broken bones, I checked." He stated.

"_I_ checked." Bella said. "I didn't trust him to _not _cop a feel."

"My car. There was a man, I hit a man." She explained. "But then he got up. Who was that?"

"That's what we would like to know." Damon said.

"Where's my phone?" She asked looking around. "Okay we really need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. Pull over." Damon continued to drive. I mean it Damon. Pull over." She demanded. "Stop the car."

"Oh...You were so much more fun when you were asleep." He moaned.

Damon pulled over. Elena got out and then gasped, crouching over. Bella shot to her side.

"What hurts?" She asked. "I can heal it."

"No." Elena said. "I'm fine. Just sore. We have to go back. Bella why did you let him do this?"

"Because believe it or not, you need some time away." Bella explained.

Elena still looked defiant.

"Oh come on, we've already come this far."

"Why are you doing this?" She protested. "I can't be in Georgia. I wrecked my car. I have to go home. This is kidnapping."

"That's a little melodramatic don't you think?" Damon asked her.

"You're not funny." She said.

"You can't do this; I'm not going to Georgia." She said.

"Well your in Georgia, without you magic little necklace I might add. I could very easily make you agreeable." Damon said.

"And I could easily rip your head off, so I wouldn't try anything Damon." Bella said.

"What are you trying to prove?" Elena asked.

Just then a phone rang. It was coming from Damon.

"That's my phone." Elena accused.

"Hmm. It's your boyfriend." Damon said, pulling the phone out. "Elena's phone." Damon answered.

Bella could hear Stefan on the line.

**"Where is she? Why do you have her phone? Is she okay?"** He asked.

"Elena?" He asked.

**"Where are you? Let me speak to her." **Stefan demanded.

"He wants to talk to you." Damon said, holding the phone towards her. Elena turned away. "Yeah I don't think she really wants to talk to you right now."

**"Damon I swear to god, if you touch her-"** Stefan started.

"I think Bella here will keep her safe. I have a feeling you're on her black list now. You have a good day. By now." Damon cut him off.

"Look nobody knows where I am, can we please just go back?" Elena pleaded.

"But we're almost there." He sighed.

"Where is there?" She yelled.

"A little place right outside of Atlanta." Damon explained. "Oh come on Elena, you don't wanna go back right now do you? What is the big hurry? Trust me; your problems are still going to be there when you get home."

"Just step away from life for 5 minutes." Bella said.

"Am I going to be safe with you?" She asked as she turned around.

"Yes." Damon answered.

"Damon enjoys living." Bella said. "He wouldn't risk his life by attempting to harm you."

"You promise not to do that mind control thing with me?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered.

"Can I trust you?" She asked.

"Get in the car." Damon said, avoiding the question.

"I got your back." Bella said, opening the door.

* * *

><p>"So where's my car?" Elena asked as they drove down the road.<p>

"We pulled it off to the side of the road." Bella started.

"I don't think anyone will bother it." Damon finished.

"What about that man on the road?" She questioned. "Was he a-"

"From what I could tell." Damon cut her off.

"You don't know him?" She asked.

"If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him." Damon said. "I mean it's not as if we all hang out together at the Vamp bar and grill."

"Where are we?" Elena asked. "You brought me to a bar? Guys I'm not old enough. They're not gonna let me in." She continued.

"Sure they will." Damon said.

When they went inside the bartender looked at Damon

"No. No, it can't be." She said "Damon?"

She came over the counter to come stand in front of him "My honey pie." She said before she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him.

Elena looked at them in shock, while Bella scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Listen up, everybody." Bree said pouring drinks. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life and ruined any and all chances of happiness. Drink up. So how'd he rope you in?" Bree asked Elena and Bella.

"Oh, I'm not r-" Elena started, while Bella scoffed.

"Honey, if you not roped, you're whipped. Either way just enjoy the ride." Bree said.

"Okay." I said.

"So how did you two meet?" Elena asked Bree.

"College." She replied.

"You went to college?" Elena asked Damon.

"I've been on a college campus, yes." Damon said.

"About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet young freshman I met this beautiful young man and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret made me love him even more. 'Cause, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to tell someone." Bree said

"She's a witch." Damon whispered.

"You changed my world." Bree said.

"I rocked your world." Damon corrected.

"But mostly you're just a walk-away Joe. So, what is it that you want?" Bree asked.

* * *

><p>"So say I am descended from Katherine. Does that make me part Vampire?" Elena blurted.<p>

"Vampire can't pro-create, but we love to try." He laughed. "No look, if you were related that would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned." he explained, before turning to Bella. "Which she would know."

"I knew Katherine from her childhood. She wasn't even ten." Bella said.

"Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?" Elena asked.

"If that were true, we would've never let him near you." Bella said.

"It's kind of creepy if you ask me." Damon said. "Come on you don't like pickles what's wrong with you?" Damon said, eating her pickles.

"How can you even eat if technically you're supposed to be...?" She trailed off.

"Dead?" Damon asked. "It's not such a bad word. As long as we keep a healthy diet of blood in our systems, our bodies function pretty normally."

"It's a nice act. Is any of it real?" She asked him.

Damon hummed.

"Here you go." Bree said as she handed Damon a beer.

"I'll have one too." Elena declared.

"Huh?" Damon asked.

"Time out remember? For 5 minutes. Yeah well that 5 minutes is going to need a beer!" Elena stated.

* * *

><p>"Ready... GO!" Bree yelled as Elena and Damon drank their shots.<p>

Elena's glass dropped on the table a second before Damon's.

"That's 3! You need a bib?" She asked Damon.

"I'm sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." he retorted. "Why aren't you drinking?" He asked Bella.

"I can't get drunk. All we get is the vile taste without the buzzing benefits." Bella explained.

"Whatever." Elena said. "Alright who's next? Another round Bree?"

"Honey you should be on the floor." A random stated.

"I'm not even drunk. My tolerance is like way up here." She said, as she jumped.

* * *

><p>Elena had gone out side to answer her phone when Bella suddenly tensed up.<p>

"Damon, go check on Elena." She ordered.

Damon looked at her strangely before going out the back door. Bella circled around to find a vampire dousing Damon with gasoline, Elena begging for his life. Bella sped over and grabbed the vampire by his neck, slamming him against the building.

"Bella don't!" Elena pleaded. "He loved Lexi. Lexi loved him and that means that he's good too."

Bella squeezed him tighter before throwing him down the alley. "Go and never come back." She said before he ran off.

* * *

><p>"So why did you bring me with you?" Elena asked Damon on the drive back to Mystic Falls<p>

"Well, you aren't the worst company in the world, Elena." Damon said, "You should really give yourself some credit."

"Seriously?" She asked.

"I don't know, you were there in the road all damsels-in-distress like. And I knew it would make Stefan mad. And you aren't the worst company in the world, Elena." Damon said.

"I saved your life." Elena said.

"_Bella _saved my life." Damon said.

"It was a team effort." Bella said.

"And don't you forget it." Elena smiled.

* * *

><p>"So you guys were in Georgia?" Erica asked.<p>

"Damon was looking for a witch to open the tomb." Bella stated.

"And Elena knows that she's adopted." Angel asked.

"Yes, which means that it's time for more answers." Bella said.

"Fun." Aiden said dryly.


	13. Unpleasantville

**Chapter Twelve: Unpleasantville**

"So are we gonna talk to her?" Aiden asked.

"Well she's been looking into her birth records; she'll probably come if sources run out." Erica said from her seat on the sofa.

"Why don't we just go to her?" Angel asked. "We'll help her and when she has questions we'll answer them."

"Elena has been receiving more and more information about the supernatural at such a quick pace. She needs to deal with things one at a time." Bella stated.

"She's strong enough to deal with it! Lying to her like this will make her resent us." Angel argued.

"I don't doubt her strength." Bella said.

"Then why can't we just tell her?" Angel asked.

"Because I'm trying to let her be a teenager as long as I can. Because in time her life will begin to crumble and she will have to deal with things that no one should have to deal with. Everything we do, every secret we keep is to protect Elena." Bella explained.

"Ignorance is bliss." Erica stated.

"Ignorance can also get you killed." Angel said, loosing flare.

"That's what we're here for." Aiden said. "We have always kept her safe and will continue to do so until her heart stops beating."

Angel's head was down, understanding Bella's and Aiden's logic. "We couldn't protect Tatia or Katerina." She whispered.

"Tatia was a shocking tragedy." Erica said.

"Out of our love for her, we protect and love each of her descendents." Bella said. "We protected Katerina as much as we could, given the circumstances and the time. She is not dead Angel."

"Elena will live." Aiden said.

"We speak of the past when we should be focusing on the present." Erica said. "We have a vampire problem."

"Stefan has prepared vervain for the others." Bella said. "Caroline included." She added seeing Aiden's look.

"We have to lure him out." Angel said. "He knows how to cover his tracks so he isn't new."

"Vampires have taken an interest in Elena." Aiden stated.

"Then I'm sure the opportunity will present itself. We will watch her for now." Bella said.

* * *

><p>At the grill Bonnie and Elena sat talking.<p>

"I can't believe you're adopted." Bonnie said. "I never saw that coming."

"And it gets weirder." Elena said. "My birth certificate lists Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as my birth parents. None of it makes any sense." Elena said

"Which is why you should ask Jenna." Bonnie advised.

Elena groaned.

"First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good or bad." Bonnie said.

"And second of all?" Elena asked.

"You just found out your boyfriend is a vampire and that your best friends are some ancient super beings sworn to protect you. So unless your birthparents are aliens, how bad could it be?" Bonnie asked.

"Uh, okay, look, I have to go to the store." Elena said. "My outfit for the dance is severely lacking accessories."

"Okay, I'll pay the bill." Bonnie said.

"Okay, bye." Elena said, leaving.

* * *

><p>Elena was had just arrived home when she saw Jenna.<p>

"I spoke to the insurance company. You're car is totaled." She said. "You can keep using mine for now."

"Thanks." Elena said. "So you're coming to the dance?" Elena asked.

"Alaric asked me to help chaperone." Jenna said.

"Why didn't you tell me Jenna?" Elena asked.

"Your mom was gonna do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to." Jenna tried to explain.

"If my mom were here right now and I asked her, she'd tell me the truth." Elena said.

"She would." Jenna said, taking a deep breath. "Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was 16, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby and he gave her a place to stay but a few days later, she disappeared. And there you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. It just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom."

"But why were their names on the birth certificate?" Elena asked.

"Grayson was a doctor. He took care of it." Jenna said. "They didn't want to lose you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible. But if anyone ever wanted proof, they had documentation."

"What else do you know about her?" Elena asked. "The girl."

"Only her name." Jenna said. "Isobel."

* * *

><p>"So he's going to show up at the dance?" Erica asked.<p>

"If there's one thing vampire's love, it's the dramatic effect of the kill." Aiden said.

"It's the horror movie quality they all share." Angel added.

Bella walked down the stairs, seeing the others. "Does being dressed like this bring back memories for anyone else?" She asked.

Erica smiled fondly. "Great music." She said. "And the dance halls were a blast."

"We'll do one dance and then it's back to protecting Elena." Aiden sighed, knowing how much Erica would love to show off her old moves.

Erica's faced lit up and Angel chuckled.

"Let's head to Elena's." Bella said, grabbing her car keys and heading for the door.

* * *

><p>Elena was in her room getting ready for the 50's decade dance when she heard a noise coming from her bed. She looked over to see the vampire compass spinning. Elena grabbed her phone and started to call Stefan as she ran down the stairs.<p>

"Stefan's phone. How may I help you?" She heard Damon ask on the other end.

"Where is he?" Elena asked.

"He's on his way to you. Forget his phone." Damon explained.

Elena calmed down. "Thank God. This compass was spinning. Stefan must be here. Thank you." Elena said.

"You're welcome." Damon said before Elena hung up.

Bella and the others got out the car seeing Stefan approach the Gilbert house before tensing.

"A vampire is in there with her." Angel called, before they sped into the house.

A vampire came from the ceiling and grabbed Elena trying to bite her neck.

"Elena!" Stefan yelled before grabbing the vampire and throwing him across the couch.

Erica grabbed the vampire by his neck before throwing him out the door. She walked out to see him gone.

* * *

><p>"I shouldn't have let him go. I should've snapped his neck." Erica said.<p>

"It's okay; you guys got here in time." Elena said.

"I for one would like to know who he is. He has no connection to Elena." Angel said.

"We'll find out." Bella said.

"They love to be dramatic." Aiden reminded them.

"Well, how'd he get in?" Damon asked after arriving.

"He was invited in." Elena said.

"He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night." Stefan explained.

"Well he gets points for that. Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asked.

"No, he was to busy trying to kill me." Elena said.

"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asked Damon.

"No." he said. "Don't look at me like that I told you we had company."

"You think there's more than one?" Elena asked.

"We don't know." Damon said.

"But it's likely." Bella said.

"Damon he was invited in." Stefan said.

"Then we go get him tonight." Damon said. "You guys up for it?" He asked, looking at the fae.

"What do we have to do?" Elena asked.

"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance Elena. We'll see who shows up." Damon said.

"That's a bad idea." Stefan said.

"No it's not." Aiden reluctantly admitted.

"See? Superman here agrees with me." Damon said. "Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot."

"Call me Superman again and I'll break your legs." Aiden threatened.

"I'll do it." Elena said.

"I'll be with all of you. I'll be safe." Elena said to Stefan, seeing his worried expression.

* * *

><p>Elena, Bella, and Angel were standing at a table when Bonnie and Caroline came up to them.<p>

"Having fun?" Elena asked.

"No, but this outfit took about two hours so I'm at least staying half of that." Caroline said.

"What is Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked.

"He wanted to come. I promise, he'll behave." Elena said.

"So you're with Damon now?" Caroline asked.

"No. But if I'm gonna be with Stefan, I'm gonna have to learn how to tolerate Damon. It's not like we can kill him." Elena said

"There's a thought." Bonnie said.

"I'll help." Caroline added.

"Say the word and it's done." Bella and Angel said in sync.

"Hey Bonnie." Damon said coming up to Caroline, Bonnie, Bella, and Angel after Elena left with Stefan. "Wanna dance?"

"I'm out of here." Bonnie said, walking away.

"Please give me another chance." Damon said but Bonnie just left.

_You know if he wasn't such a dick who's hung up on Petrova doppelgangers', they might actually work. _Angel sent.

Bella held in her laugh but couldn't keep a smirk from coming to her face.

"Back off, Damon." Caroline said before leaving as well.

"Where did they go?" Elena asked walking up to them.

"I don't know." Damon said.

"Damon chased them off." Angel said.

"What did you say to them?" Stefan asked.

"I was being perfectly polite." Damon said.

Stefan looked at Bella and Angel.

"He was being polite." Bella started.

"But do to his jackass personality every conversation before this one, they hate his guts." Angel finished, smiling.

"Elena." Damon said, ignoring Angel's comment. "Would you like to dance?"

"Yes." Elena said. "I would love to. May I have this dance Stefan?"

Elena and Stefan walked out onto the dance floor.

"Ouch." Angel said chuckling.

"Do you want to dance, Angel?" Damon asked her.

"No way in hell." Angel instantly denied.

"Bella?" He asked, holding his hand out towards her.

"Sure." Bella agreed, placing her hand in his.

Angel looked at her, shocked.

_I need to talk to him. _Bella sent as he led her towards the dance floor.

* * *

><p>"I hope you know this will never happen again." Bella informed him, as he placed his hands on her waist and began swaying back and forth.<p>

"I'm actually surprised you agreed." Damon said.

"I just took the chance to tell you something." Bella said.

"And what might that be? To confess your undying love for me?" Damon smirked.

"If Elena ever gets hurt and you're the cause of it, I'm coming after you." Bella said.

Damon frowned. "And here I thought the night would end without me getting threatened by you." He said.

"It's a promise. You've seen very little of what I could do. Of what _we_ can do Damon. As long as you continue to protect Elena, we are not your enemies." Bella said. "As long as she is safe, so are you."

They heard whoops and cheers and turned to see what's going on. Aiden and Erica were twisting and twirling like professionals.

"Your friends look a lot more fun than you and _Demon_." Damon said, thinking of Angel's snide comments every time they've spoken.

"Don't be mistaken. We actually had to stop Aiden from killing you several times. You piss him off the most and he has a short temper. I'd tread lightly around him if I were you. Erica looks sweet but just like the rest of us, she'll destroy you should something happens to Elena and you're tied to it." Bella explained. "And don't expect to leave here unharmed. Angel heard that demon comment." She added as the song ended.

* * *

><p>Stefan came up to Bella and Damon.<p>

"He's here. And I can't find Elena." Stefan said.

Bella sent a message to the others and they joined them. "Let's go." She said.

* * *

><p>They walked through the hallways behind the gym when they heard Elena screaming.<p>

Aiden and Bella appeared in the cafeteria, throwing the vampire off of Elena.

"Hey." Damon said as he, Stefan, Erica, and Angel entered. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."

"I want to kill you." Angel cut in.

"Except Angel. She wants to kill you." Damon corrected his previous statement.

The vampire smiled before running towards Elena. Damon part of a broom handle at Stefan, while Aiden pulled out a stake. Stefan caught broken wood and stabbed the vamp in the stomach with it as Aiden did so with his stake. Damon and the others walked over to Elena and Stefan.

"Now you feel like talking?" Stefan asked.

"Screw you." The vampire grunted.

"Wrong answer." Aiden said, pushing the stake deeper into the vamps stomach.

"Why are you doing this?" Bella asked.

"Because it's fun." He replied, before she broke his shoulder.

The vampire screamed in pain. Damon looked towards the door wondering if anyone heard him.

"No one can hear us." Erica said, looking over at him. "I placed a barrier around the room.

"What do you want with Elena?" Stefan asked him.

"She looks like Katherine." He said

"You knew Katherine?" Damon asked him, interested.

"You thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me?" He said.

_I sure as hell don't. _Erica sent.

"Tell me how to get into the tomb." Damon said.

"No." He said.

Stefan shoved the handle deeper.

"The grimoire." He groaned out, hoping to stop the pain.

"Well where is it?" Damon asked.

Erica walked forth, crouching in front of the vampire and looking into his eyes. "Where is it?" She asked as her eyes, including the white turned completely black.

The vampire's face turned to horror and complete agony as his limbs began twitching.

"Check the journal. The journal. Use Jonathan's journal. Jonathan Gilbert's." The vampire screamed. "Please stop!"

Elena watched on shock as her best friends interrogated the vampire. She was starting to grasp how powerful they were.

Erica's eyes faded back to blue before she stood up and walked back over to Elena.

"What are you?" He asked, horrified.

"Your end." Aiden said.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asked.

"Who else is there?" Damon asked.

The vampire regained his composure. "No." He said. "You're gonna have to kill me."

Angel stepped forward, grabbing the handle and pulled it out before shoving it into the vampires' heart.

"How are you gonna find the others now?" Elena asked.

"He had to die." Damon said

"But-" Elena started.

"Elena." Stefan said. "He's been invited in."

"Oh Damon?" Angel asked.

Damon turned to look at her, only to be met with a punch to the face. He fell to the ground, groaning.

Stefan and Elena looked shocked. "What was that for?" Elena asked.

"A comment he made earlier." Angel explained.

"Told you so." Bella smirked.

Damon got back up, rubbing his jaw. "Go." He said to them. "I got this."

They all nodded before leaving, Angel waving at Damon with a smug smile on her face.

* * *

><p>"Are you doing okay?" Stefan asked Elena when they arrived to her house.<p>

"Is it weird if I say yes?" Elena asked.

"Is it true?" Stefan asked

"I should feel more upset or scared or something, but I feel kind of exhilarated." Elena said. "Did you see Erica and the others? All this time I've been comparing their strength to you and Damon, but tonight we all got a glance of how powerful they are.

"It's the adrenaline. You'll crash soon enough." Stefan said. "As for the others, Damon and I never found out what they were."

"Yeah, I guess." Elena said. "I fought back tonight. It felt good. And I'll ask Bella to let you guys in."

"I wish you didn't have to fight at all." Stefan said.

"Still…" Elena said.

"I need to tell you something and I don't know how you are going to feel about it." Stefan said.

"What?" Elena asked.

"I told Damon I'd help him get into the tomb, get Katherine back." Stefan said.

Elena stared at him.

"It doesn't matter because it was a lie. I let him believe that he could trust me." Stefan explained.

"Then why would you be worried about telling me?" She asked.

"Because he can be very persuasive and you two have bonded lately." Stefan said.

"That doesn't mean I trust him." Elena said. "It's gonna take a lot more then a road trip and a rescue for me to forget who Damon is and everything he has done."

"I don't wanna be his enemy but I can't let him do it." Stefan said.

"Then don't. And I'll help you, whatever it takes." Elena said.

"Will your friends help?" Stefan asked.

"They openly hate Damon. He would never believe them." Elena said.

"Right." Stefan said. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Tonight was exciting." Erica said.<p>

"That is was. I had fun." Angel said.

"It was good. I finally got to blow off some steam." Aiden said.

"Enough." Bella said, chuckling at her friends giddy moods. "It's a whole new day tomorrow. Let's get out of these outfits and get some sleep." She said before heading upstairs, her friends following behind her.


	14. Children of the Damned

**Chapter Thirteen: Children of the Damned**

"Rise and shine." Damon announced as he opened Stefan's door, greeted to the sight of Elena and Stefan undressed.

"Damon! Please!" Elena complained, covering herself from him with the covers.

"What are you doing?" Stefan held the sheet in front of Elena, mindful of his brothers' eyes.

"Oh, stop being smutty." Damon smirked, leaning against the door frame.

"Seriously, get out of here." Stefan demanded.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it." He joked. "Now listen. We all have some very important business to discuss."

"And it has to be right now?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"Well, we have lots to do, now that we're all friends and working towards a common goal. So, in order to open the tomb, we need to find the journal to get the grimoire to open the spell. First things first, since you're Elena _Gilbert_, you're on journal duty." Damon told her.

Stefan sighed turning to look at Elena. "Since when am I helping?" She questioned.

"Well Stefan's helping and you've taken up residency in his bed." Damon explained. "Ergo..."

"You don't have to do anything you don't wanna do." Stefan told Elena.

"I'll look for it today." She said.

"Good." Damon smirked.

"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the Grimoire? We're really going to take the word of the Vampire who seems like a bit of a dim-wit." Stefan said.

"In lieu of any other options." Damon shrugged, trailing off.

"Ok, what exactly is a grimoire?" Elena asked.

"It's a witch cookbook." Damon explained.

"Every spell that a witch casts is unique unto itself, so ever witch would document their work-" Stefan began to explain but was cut off.

"Yeah. Cookbook." Damon cut in.

"What about our mystery Vampire? Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever is out there knows who we are." Stefan stated

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so... chop, chop. You know, I really like whole sexy team thing we got going on. It's got a bit of a kink to it..." He chuckled "Don't screw it up." He said leaving the room.

* * *

><p>"Do you think Damon really believes us? That we're all trying to help him?" Elena asked Stefan while they were looking through boxes for Jonathan Gilbert's journal.<p>

"I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him." Stefan said.

"You know, I really think that Damon believes everything he's done, every move, he's done for love." Elena said.

"People will do crazy things for love. It's twisted but kind of sad." Elena said.

"There are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people." Stefan said. "Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain in others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not gonna make that mistake again."

"So what do you think will happen if the tomb gets opened and Damon gets Katherine back?" Elena asked.

"I think that no matter what Damon promises a lot of people are gonna die." Stefan said, before looking at the picture Elena was holding. "That's Jonathan Gilbert."

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Hey. Just going through some stuff. Feeling sentimental." Elena said. "Dad had this old journal from years ago. I thought we'd dig it up."

"Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, what do you know about it?" Elena asked.

"I just did a history report on in." He said.

"Oh. Where is it now?" She asked.

"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it." Jeremy said.

* * *

><p>"So does anyone else think it's been quiet today?" Erica asked the others, sitting at the table.<p>

"No calls or text from Elena." Aiden started.

"Not even to check in about last night." Angel finished.

"Which means that everything is all right or she's keeping something from us that's bound to end horribly." Bella said.

They all looked at each other. "It's the second one." They said sync.

* * *

><p>"What do you think they're doing?" Angel asked as they walked around town.<p>

"Well, Damon found out a clue about the tomb last night. My guess is that they're trying to get it open." Bella said.

"But why would they keep it from us?" Erica asked.

"They think that we won't help because we hate Damon." Aiden answered.

"And they're right. We won't help because we do hate Damon." Angel stated.

"Why would they help him open a tomb full of vampires that want to slaughter the town?" Erica asked, too low for humans to hear.

"They wouldn't, which means Stefan is planning something." Bella said.

"And we all know how well his plans work out." Aiden said, rolling his eyes.

"So something is going to go wrong." Angel started.

"And we'll be there to stop it." Bella finished.

"So we're back to being invisible?" Erica asked.

"No." Bella said. "We'll be in the woods, staying high in the trees tonight."

"That sounds fun." Angel huffed sarcastically.

"I'm sure it will be." Bella said, ignoring the girl's sarcasm. "Especially with there being a chance to hit Damon again."

"That sound fun." Angel said, smiling widely.

"We'll head to the woods at sunset." Aiden said.

* * *

><p>Alaric was in the teacher's lounge making copies of the journal. After he was done he placed them in his locker and returned to his room, placing the journal on the desk.<p>

Suddenly the hairs on his neck were standing. He got up and walked from the room to see nobody out there. "Hello?" He called, scanning the hallway. "Someone there?" There was no response, but a rush of air blew past him.

He hurried to his locker again pulling out a black bag, he grabbed a long gun like object as placed a stake into it before going back to his class room. He peaked around the corner before he fired to see that Stefan caught the stake firmly in his hand. He tried to reload and run from the room, but Stefan was already there with a dark look on his face.

"You shouldn't have done that." Stefan told him before throwing him forcefully across the room. "Have a seat." Stefan told him holding Alaric's weapon in his hand along with two stakes. Alaric sat down at one of the desks, his muscles still tensed. "What is this compressed air?" Stefan asked and the teacher nodded. "Did you make it yourself?" He nodded again. "Who are you?" Alaric remained silent. "I'm not going to hurt you... unless you try that again. Now, who are you?"

"I'm a teacher." Alaric stated, hiding his fear.

"Are we going to have to do this the hard way?" Stefan asked.

"I'm also a historian. And while researching Virginia, I – made a few discoveries about your town." Alaric admitted.

"So you show up like Van Helsing. Come on. Tell me the truth." Stefan said, rolling his eyes.

"My wife was a parapsychologist. She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area. It was her work that led me here." Alaric replied.

"Where's your wife?" Stefan questioned.

"Dead. A Vampire killed her." Alaric said, lowering his head.

"Where's the Gilbert journal?" Stefan asked, revealing his reason for being there.

"What do you want with it?" Alaric hissed.

"Where is it?" Stefan demanded.

"It's on my desk." Alaric replied.

"No, it's not." Stefan said.

Alaric looked over to see that it wasn't there "It _was_ on my desk."

* * *

><p>Anna sat back in her motel room with Ben, looking through the journal.<p>

"Anything?" Ben asked.

"Not yet. Just a lot of gibberish. Yeah, some people just shouldn't journal..." Anna rolled her eyes as she continued reading.

"I thought this Gilbert was the brains..." Ben asked confused.

"Don't you have a date?" Anna asked annoyed, referring to the witch.

"Yep. Wish me luck." He said before leaving.

* * *

><p>"How long have you been aware of me?" Stefan questioned.<p>

"I learned just recently. What about your brother?" Alaric asked.

"You met Damon?" Stefan was surprised.

"Who do you think killed me wife." Alaric grumbled.

"Are you certain it was Damon?" Stefan asked.

"I witnessed it." Alaric spat.

"If you're here for revenge, this is going to end very badly for you." Stefan said, trying to warn him.

"I just want to find out what happened to my wife." Alaric told him.

"I thought you just said that Damon..." Stefan trailed off.

"Yeah. I saw him draining the life out of her. He must have heard me coming. He just...Disappeared. So did her body. They never found her." Alaric shook his head mournfully.

"Damon can never know why you're here. He'll kill you without blinking." Stefan told him.

"I can take care of myself." Alaric said confidently.

"No, you can't. I can help you. If you let me." Stefan offered.

* * *

><p>After a little debating about where to go, the gang went to the park.<p>

"Remember when Elena was just a kid?" Erica asked from the swing.

"Everything was _so _much easier." Angel exclaimed next to her.

"Just put a smile on her face and it stayed there." Aiden added from his spot on top of the monkey bars. "There were no threats, no sadness, and no boys." He said, making the others smile at the end.

"But it's over now. It's our job to make sure that she remains safe." Bella said, as laid on the grass, watching the clouds.

* * *

><p>"Where's Damon?" Elena asked.<p>

"He left to track down Jeremy's friend Anna." Stefan said. "See if there was anything there."

"Aren't you gonna go?" Elena asked him. "If he gets to the journal before we do-"

"Doesn't matter." Stefan said, holding up a stack of papers.

"What is that?" Elena asked.

"It's a copy of the journal." Stefan said.

"How did you get it?" She asked.

"Well, Mr. Saltzman made a copy and was kind enough to loan it to me." Stefan said.

"He did?" Elena asked, not sure whether or not to believe him.

"Not exactly. But I got it." Stefan said.

* * *

><p>"Here's a reference that he wrote about Emily." Elena said after they had been reading for a while. "<em>The Fell family believed it should be I, not them who protected the witches spell book. But I feared she would haunt me from the hereafter. They mocked my fear, but it was Giuseppe Salvatore who-<em>" She stopped reading. "Is that your father?" Elena asked.

"Yes." Stefan said, before grabbing the papers in Elena's hands and continued reading. "_It was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear. He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book. He said he would carry it to his grave._ I know where it is." He stated.

* * *

><p>Stefan and Elena wandered through the cemetery looking for Giuseppe Salvatore's grave.<p>

"Why isn't your father buried in your family tomb?" Elena questioned.

"It wasn't built until well after he died." Stefan replied looking at the headstone.

"Are you sure the grimoire's in there with him?" Elena asked skeptically, a little creeped that she was about to dig up a grave.

"As sure as I could be." Stefan replied, grabbing two shovels handing her one.

"Great." She murmured taking one.

"Elena, I can do this on my own." Stefan told her.

"This is my home, Stefan. My friends and family are here. You're here. I don't want that tomb opened anymore than you do." She sighed.

"I'm sorry that you have to do this." Stefan said.

As they began to dig, they were unaware of the figures watching them from above.

* * *

><p>After a while Elena got out of the grave.<p>

"What?" Stefan asked when he noticed Elena staring at him.

"Not many girls can say they've done this." Elena said pointing a flashlight into the grave.

Stefan started to dig again. There was a thump and Stefan looked up at her. He started to move the dirt and revealed a coffin.

"Is that it?" Elena asked as Stefan started to open it.

Inside the coffin was a skeleton holding a faded red book. Stefan took the book and stood on top of the coffin. He grabbed the wire that bond the book and pulled on it. After the book was opened he started to look through the pages.

"Well, what do you know?" They heard Damon voice behind them.

They turned around to see him standing a few feet away.

"This is an interesting turn of events." He said.

"I can't let you bring her back." Stefan said. "I'm sorry."

"So am I? For thinking for even a second I could trust you." Damon said.

"You are not capable of trust. The fact you're here means you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself." Stefan shot back.

"Of course. Because the only one I can count on is me. You made sure of that years ago, Stefan." He said before looking at Elena. "I had my suspicious of Stefan, but you." He paused. "You had me fooled. So what are you gonna do now?" Damon asked Stefan, before grabbing Elena. "Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip her heart out."

"You won't kill her." Stefan said.

Damon had his arm around her neck. "I can do one better." He said before biting his wrist and shoving it in her mouth.

Faster than human and supernatural eyes could catch, four figures dropped down from the trees. Elena suddenly found herself in Erica's arms next to Stefan. Damon didn't even had the time to be shocked before a fist met his face. He slammed to the ground, feeling like he'd just been hit by a bulldozer. He grunted when he felt a foot connect with his side, feeling his ribs break. He was harshly flipped on his back with a hand tightly gripping his neck to see Bella kneeling over him, a look of contained rage on her face.

"I warned you." She said, before she raised her arm, the vampires and Elena noticed that she was holding a stake in her hand.

"No!" Stefan and Elena yelled as she brought her arm down. Stefan tried to make his way to his brother, but was slammed to the ground by Aiden.

Bella stopped the stake centimeters from Damon's heart. Elena and Stefan released sighs of relief, while Angel and Aiden rolled their eyes in irritation.

Damon stared into Bella's cold eyes, for the first time showing fear. Never had he ever came this close to dying. The only reason her was still alive was because of his brother that he's tormented for over a century and the girl that he had just threatened to kill.

"You're very lucky to have people who actually care about you." She said, standing up to go stand by Elena and Erica.

Aiden released Stefan as Erica released Elena. They ran to each other, embracing tightly.

Angel picked the grimoire up, tossing it to the ground in front of Damon.

Damon got up slowly feeling his bones begin to heal, before picking up the grimoire.

"No pain, no gain." Angel teased. "You have once gain, had your ass kicked. Consider that a consolation prize."

"I warned you of the consequences should you ever harm Elena. I suggest you take us seriously." Bella said, before turning to Stefan and Elena. "You guys should go. We got our point through. We will leave as well." She added, seeing their worry of leaving Damon alone with them.

* * *

><p>"Are you ok?" Stefan asked her.<p>

"Tonight was just so intense. I mean, what Erica did the night of the dance was different. But Aiden, Angel, and Bella…I've never seen her so angry." Elena replied. "Is my head supposed to hurt like this?"

"They were just trying to protect you. And you'll be fine, it was just a small amount of blood, it should pass out of your system by tomorrow." Stefan said.

"The aspirin must be downstairs." She said. "Are you alright?"

"Damon is right this is my fault." Stefan said. "I put my faith into my father. But Damon put his faith in me. And I destroyed that. This is my fault."

"We didn't do anything wrong." Elena said. "Don't forget that."

"Okay." he said.

She groaned and rubbed her head.

"I'll go get you that aspirin." Stefan said going downstairs.

* * *

><p>"Oh hey Stefan" Jeremy said, as he walked into the room with Aunt Jenna. "Where did she go?"<p>

"She went to the bathroom" Aunt Jenna replied.

"Where did who go?" Stefan asked them.

"He has a friend over" Aunt Jenna told him.

"Anna" Jeremy said.

Stefan had a look of panic, before he quickly took off up the stairs. "ELENA!" He yelled. He entered her room to find it empty.


	15. Fool Me Once

Chapter fourteen: Fool Me Once

Elena woke up and her head was hurting, she glanced around and to find that she was in a motel room with man sitting opposite her on a chair fast asleep.

She recognized him, it was Ben McKittrick. Bonnie went out on a date with him the night before. She began to panic, worrying for her friend.

Getting up as quietly as she could from the bed she planned to escape and find her protectors. Stepping over Ben's feet she went to the door and gently slid the deadlock across, and then she twisted the lock before she heard a voice.

"I wouldn't." Ben breathed. "Don't try to escape. Don't even try to move. Do you understand?"

_He's trying to compel me. _Elena thought. "I understand." She played along.

Ben nodded thinking he had successfully managed to compel her into not moving, he turned going to get a drink from the mini fridge when he heard the door unlock and saw Elena try to escape.

Elena was about to run out of the room, only to be met with Anna standing outside the door.

"Seriously?" Anna growled as she caught hold of a squirming Elena.

"I told her not to move! I did that eye thing you taught me!" Ben reasoned.

"And forgot the lesson about vervain! She dates a Vampire, Ben. Duh!" She steered Elena towards the motel room bathroom opening the door.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Elena asked "Where is Bonnie?"

"Does it matter?" Anna forced the brunette into the bathroom closing the door and locking it shut from the outside.

She looked around and saw her olive toned friend in the bathtub out cold.

"Oh my God! Bonnie!" Elena attempted to wake her Bonnie! Wake up."

* * *

><p>"Anna took Elena." Stefan stated as he walked into the library in the boarding house.<p>

"Yeah, I got that from you 600 voice mails." Damon rolled his eyes as he read the grimoire.

"Damon, all night long, every street in town, I've been searching..." Stefan paused "What if your blood hasn't passed out of her system?"

"Well then at least you'll see her again." Damon grinned evilly.

"You know her friends will kill you if anything happens to her." Stefan said.

"If I was tied to it." Damon informed him. "I have nothing to do with Anna."

"Damon, please. You were with Anna; you must know where she is living... Just tell me where I can find them." Stefan begged.

"Nope." Damon popped the 'p' "You can go now. Really."

"You know, all I can remember is hating you... There might have been a time when that was different, but your choices have erased anything good about you. But see, I know you have just as much reason to hate me. This all began with me. Katherine got taken away from you because of me. And I'm sorry." Stefan told him.

"Apology accepted." Damon almost smiled kindly as he flicked further into Emily's grimoire.

"So please, just tell me what you know. This is Elena we're talking about, Damon. If you know something, tell me." Stefan pleaded.

"I mean this sincerely – I hope she dies." Damon replied flatly before leaving the room "Why don't you go annoy Elena's guard dogs." He said on his way out.

* * *

><p>The gang was sitting in living room watching TV when they heard a constant banging on the door.<p>

Bella stood from her seat and walked over to answer. She opened the door, seeing Stefan on the other side. "What's wrong?" She asked, seeing the expression on his face.

Stefan walked past her and went into the living room.

Aiden looked up and his eyes hardened, seeing a Salvatore in their home. Erica and Angel turned towards the vampire.

Erica turned off the TV, seeing the expression on Stefan's face. "What's going on?" She asked Bella as she came from behind Stefan.

"That's what I'd like to know." Bella answered.

"There's a vampire in town. Anna." Stefan began. "That's the girl that Jeremy has been talking to. She took Elena yesterday. I've been searching for her all night. I've asked Damon what he knows about her, but he refuses to help. I don't know if his blood is out of her system." Stefan said.

The room was silent when he finished.

"And you waited until now to tell us?" Bella asked, glaring at the vampire.

"Believe me when I tell you that I know it was stupid. I didn't know how to contact you at the time and it slipped my mind. But please help." Stefan pleaded.

"Of course we're going to help." Erica said, as she and the others stood from their seats. "We're just pissed that the one time we weren't guarding her house is the night she got kidnapped."

"Because we thought that she would be _safe _with you." Angel added.

"We won't make that mistake again." Aiden said.

* * *

><p>Elena was trying to wake Bonnie up, she dabbed her forehead with a wet hand towel.<p>

"Elena?" The witch asked, waking up.

"You're ok." Elena breathed

"I'm hurt." She groaned. "Oh my God! Ben's a-"

Elena shushed Bonnie. She got up and turned on the tap to the sink so that they could talk normally.

"I'm so stupid." She groaned.

He had all of us fooled." Elena told her.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" Bonnie asked confused

"It must have something to do with the tomb and Emily's spell book..." Elena reasoned.

"Spell book?" Bonnie asked.

"Damon said that it could be used to open the tomb." Elena informed her

"Why don't I know about any of this?" The witch looked at the brunette.

Elena sighed heavily. "I was trying to keep you out of it, hoping it would never come to this..." She explained, leaning against the wall.

"Come to what?" Bonnie asked again.

"They need a witch to break the spell and let the vampires out." Elena explained

"No way!" Bonnie growled

"I know –." Elena nodded

The door suddenly burst open and Ben is standing there looking annoyed, Elena protectively covers Bonnie from him whilst he turns of the tap for the sink

"You're wasting your time." Bonnie glared "I'm not going to help you."

Ben sauntered over and grabbed Elena. "That's why she's here." Ben said. "Motivation for you to behave... You know, you shouldn't be so desperate... you made it too easy." Bonnie continued to glare at the Vampire as he turned to the other girl. "She wants to talk to you." Ben pushed Elena into the main room of the motel and he shut the door behind them.

"Well, well." Anna smiled at her. "Elena Gilbert... you really are Katherine's doppelganger." She smirked "You must have the Salvatore boys reeling."

"Who are you?" Elena asked.

"I'm surprised you don't know me... I'm basically dating your brother." Anna sneered.

* * *

><p>Damon walked up to Bonnie's Grams house. He was going to find Bonnie so that she would be able to open the tomb for him.<p>

"Yes?" Sheila asked as she opened the door

"Hi there... I'm looking for Bonnie." Damon stated

"She's not here." Sheila replied her eyes narrowing on Damon

"Oh, do you know when she will be-" He was cut off

"Never." She spat

"You have quite an opinion for someone who doesn't know me." Damon now narrowed his eyes

"You got some nerve knocking on a Bennett witch's door and asking her for anything." Sheila stated knowing all about Damon and what he had done

"What'd I do?" Damon played dumb

"Spirits talk, Mr. Salvatore, and so does my Granddaughter. You are no friend to us. Now get off my porch." She hissed

"Step outside and say that." Damon tested her

Sheila smiled once and stepped outside her door so she was standing right in front of the murderous Vampire, she then narrow her eyes again and Damon felt an burning sensation begin in his brain. He doubled over and flinched away from her.

"I am not Bonnie. You do not want to mess you me." Sheila stated before going back in the house.

* * *

><p>Anna is glancing out of the window looking up at the bright sun as Elena continued to stare at her, waiting to see what she was going to do next.<p>

"Bonnie's not going to open that tomb." Elena said.

"Oh, I think she will." Anna smiled.

"Do you really want Katherine out that bad?" Elena asked

"Trust me no one I knows wants to see that girl again. Well, everyone except Damon, the love struck idiot." Anna rolled her eyes.

"Then what is it?" Elena asked. "Who is it?"

"My mother's in there. Katherine couldn't help herself. She just had to mess with the Salvatore brothers. And when she caught, so did my mother. I watched Jonathan Gilbert take her away." Anna told them her eyes narrowing at the memory.

"I'm sorry." Elena whispered.

"You really mean that, don't you?" Anna questioned and Elena nodded "Yeah, I think we'll skip the dead mom bonding so you can start serving a purpose."

"Which is what?" Elena asked.

"Leverage. This belongs to you." Anna replied with Elena's blackberry and she tried to grab it but Anna took it back "ah, ah." she dialed a number holding it to her ear

"Elena, are you ok?" They could hear Stefan

"She's fine, for now. Tell me you have the grimoire and they'll both stay find." Anna looked over at the twins

"I can get it." Stefan tells her as he looks at the four others surrounding him.

"Which means your brother has it." Anna looked at Elena. "And I have the witch. So one of you had better meet me in a very public town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fund it doesn't to be working together." Anna grinned before ending the call.

* * *

><p>Stefan looked down at his phone as Anna ended the call before turning and see his brother had been listening to the whole conversation.<p>

"Go ahead grovel again. Oh, no, wait... I don't care." Damon growled before walking away.

Aiden began to move towards Damon but was stopped by Bella. "We don't have the time." She stated. "Anna will go to Damon which means that she's away from Elena. Let's use that time to go get her."

* * *

><p>"I'm leaving." Anna stated as she banged on the bathroom door to alert Ben as he walked out pulling Bonnie with him, she pushed her down on the bed next to Elena. "Keep them buttoned down. Compulsion won't work. Just use violence." Anna grinned before leaving the room.<p>

"Right. I got that. Sit. Behave. You're the key to this, literally. The one who opens the door. Tell me, how long have you been a witch?" Ben asked Bonnie.

* * *

><p>"We can get Sheila to help us. Elena is Bonnie's best friend, she won't let any harm come to her." Bella told Stefan. "I suggest you do that on your own. We try our best to keep our secret and she would have questions if we show up with you."<p>

"What will you do while I'm there?" Stefan asked.

"We'll be there too." Erica said. "You just won't see us."

* * *

><p>"Do you have any drink?" Elena asked.<p>

"Are you offering?" Ben hissed at Elena. "There's water on the nightstand." He nodded his head to the nightstand behind her.

Elena grabbed the glass.

"Can I have a sip?" Bonnie asked before the glass reached her lips.

Elena passed the glass to Bonnie, Ben watched from where he was standing suddenly Bonnie threw the water at him and it exploded into fire as it hit his body.

Bonnie managed to get out of the door but Elena was captured as Ben managed to put out the fire that was on his body, he held the human tightly in his iron grip.

"Come back in and shut the door!" Ben ordered.

"Don't hurt her." Bonnie whispered she walked back in the room.

"Don't make me." He growled. "Lock the door." Bonnie flicked the lock on the door.

Elena and Bonnie were all huddled on the same bed whilst Ben stalked around them like they were his prey.

"Witches don't have eternal life, right? So you guys can die." Ben stated to Bonnie.

"Yeah, we can die." Bonnie replied mournfully.

"Ah! That sucks." Ben smirked.

Suddenly the door burst open, Ben yelled as it began to burn his skin, Stefan walked in with Bella and the others by his side and pulled the curtains back making sure Ben had to hide completely so that he wasn't burnt to death.

"Stefan!" Elena announced relieved.

"Get outside." Bella ordered. Stefan took Elena and Bonnie outside while the others remained. "When the sun goes down, leave town. If we ever see you again, we will kill you." She told Ben calmly before leaving the room, the others following her.

* * *

><p>"So what do we do now?" Elena questioned as they sat in Sheila's house.<p>

"For now, you need to stay here." Stefan informed the three women

"A prisoner, in my own home? I don't think so." Sheila shook her head.

"I can't protect you if you leave the house." Stefan warned the older woman.

"We'll protect ourselves." Sheila stated.

"We need to let him have Katherine back. He's not going to stop until he gets her. If we help him, maybe that ends it." Elena said.

"No!" Bonnie protested. "He doesn't deserve to get what he wants."

"What other choice do we have?" Elena sighed.

"Witches being pulled down by Vampire problems. As much as we tried to stay out of it... I'll open the tomb. You get you brother's girl, and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will all be over." Sheila announced.

"We still have to get Damon to agree." Stefan said.

"He already agreed once." Elena said.

"Yeah, and then we double crossed him. So now he's angry." Stefan reminded her. "He tried to kill you."

"He's hurt." Elena said. "There's a difference. I think I know what I have to do."

* * *

><p>Anna walked towards the hotel room that they were keeping the girls captive in when she saw that the door was open and the curtains were drawn. Quickly walking into the room she saw Ben cowering behind the bed.<p>

"You've got to be kidding me." Anna growled.

"It was Stefan and these other people. There was nothing I could-" Ben was cut off by Anna's anger.

"Shut up! Stop talking." She ordered "Without the witch, we don't have Damon or the grimoire. Damon's not going to stop. He'll find a way to get in and we're going to be there when he does." Her angered face suddenly turned smug.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to have to change the locks." Damon stated turning to look at the brunette. "How did you stage a jailbreak?" He smirked.<p>

"Stefan, Bella, and the others." Elena replied sharply "Considering you weren't there."

"Oh, brother." Damon shook his head "Ever the white knight."

"Even after all this, I convinced Bonnie to help you." Elena told him.

"I doubt that." He scoffed.

"I was protecting the people I love Damon, But so were you, in your own twisted way, and as hard as it is to figure out we're all on the same side, after the same thing." Elena said.

"Not interested." Damon turned away from her.

"Yes, you are" She said "you were willing to work with us yesterday."

"Fool me once, shame on you." Damon replied.

"Okay, when we were in Atlanta why didn't you use your powers on me?" Elena asked.

"Who's to say I didn't?" Damon said.

"Besides the fact that Bella would have killed you, I know you didn't. But you could have. You and I we have something, an understanding. And I know that my betrayal hurt you. Different from how it is with you and Stefan. But I am promising you this now; I will help you get Katherine back." Elena said.

"I wish I could believe you." Damon said.

Elena took off her necklace and set it on the table next to her.

"Ask me now." She said.

"You know Anna won't stop, by the way, no matter what I do." He said walking towards her.

"Then we'll deal with it." She said.

Damon grabbed the necklace from the necklace and put it back around her neck.

"I didn't compel you in Atlanta because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real. And maybe the fact that Bella would have killed me." Damon said, "I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."

* * *

><p>"The Duke party. I forgot." Elena said as she and Damon were walking to the tomb, "I hope they stay clear of the church."<p>

"Your hope, not mine." Damon said.

"Elena, hey." Matt said coming up to them.

"Elena, oh my God. Where have you been?" Caroline asked, coming up to them and taking Matt's hand.

"Long story, no time to tell it." Damon said.

"I wasn't taking to you." Caroline snapped.

"Sure you were." Damon teased.

"We haven't met. I'm Matt." Matt said, extending his hand.

"Matt, there's a reason we haven't met." Damon said turning to Elena, "You and I are going that way."

"I'm sorry guys." She said before Damon dragged her off.

* * *

><p>Inside the tomb, Stefan, the Bennett witches, and the Protectors watched as Elena and Damon walked in.<p>

"Elena. Brother. Witches." Damon said before turning to the others. "I still don't know what you are."

"Something you don't want to mess with." Bella said.

"Everything okay?" Elena asked Stefan.

"I just want to get this over with." he said, "Are we ready?"

"I guess so." Bonnie said.

"Air." Grams said while lighting torches, "Earth. Fire."

"Water." Bonnie said, handing Grams a bottle of water.

"That's it. Just water from the tap?" Elena asked.

"As opposed to what?" Sheila asked.

"I just figured it would have to be blessed or mystical or something." Elena said.

"What's that?" Stefan asked Damon, seeing something in his hand.

"It's for Katherine." Damon said holding a blood bag, "Gotta have something to get her going. Unless your girl is offering a vein to tap."

"Admit it," Damon said. "You can't wait to get rid off me."

"I can't wait to get rid of you." Stefan said.

"We're ready." Bonnie called.

"What are they saying?" Damon asked.

"Sounds Latin." Stefan said.

"It's not Latin." Angel said.

The flame from the torches rose as they continued to chant.

"What's happening?" Elena asked.

The door opened.

"It worked." Bonnie said, amazed

"Well of course it worked." Grams said

"Don't you have some fires to burn?" Damon asked Stefan.

"I'm gonna get the gasoline. I'll be right back." Stefan said before leaving.

"You ready?" Damon asked Elena.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you think I'm going in there by myself so you can seal me in?" Damon said to Grams, grabbing her arm and pulling her to him.

"No." Erica said.

Aiden stepped towards Damon, ready to rip his arms off.

"I'll bring the walls down." Grams said.

"You'll bring them down if I don't." Damon said, "You think I trust you?"

"As much as I trust you." She replied.

"I'm going with you." Aiden interjected.

"I don't trust guard dogs who want to kill me." Damon said.

"Enough. All of you." Elena said, "Look he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door. I get it. I'll go."

"I'm going." Bella said, stepping forward.

"Did you not hear the comment about guard dogs?" Damon asked.

"She's not going in without one of us. We can just kill you and call it a day. But you're Stefan's bother and Elena cares about him, so be grateful. Now, take your pick. I'm just the one that's least likely snap and kill you." Bella said.

"Fine." Damon said. "May I?" He asked, grabbing a torch and walking into the tomb, Elena walking in with him.

"Go up to the party. Make sure everyone stays away from here." She said before entering.

* * *

><p>"What is that?" Elena asked when she heard whispering. Bella walked up behind her.<p>

"They can sense you." Damon said. "Now where is she?" he asked before running off and leaving Elena and Bella alone.

"Damon!" Elena called. Getting no reply, Elena turned to Bella who was staring after him. "Go after him." She said.

"What?" She asked. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"You look like you're expecting something, but I don't know what. So go after him. I'll be fine." Elena said.

Bella stared at Elena before walking forward. "Don't move." She said as she continued deeper into the tomb.

* * *

><p>Elena stood still before taking small steps around the tomb when she almost tripped over something. She turned the flashlight towards the ground and saw a body. Elena shined the light around and found more of them. Then she turned around again to find Anna standing there.<p>

"You must have a taste for it. You scream and shriek and even bother to escape but then you just come right back to it." Anna said.

Elena backed up until we almost tripped over someone.

"Mother." Anna said running to the woman, "Mother." She said again before turning to Elena. "Your boyfriend did this you know." Anna said to Elena.

"His father did." Elena corrected.

"And Jonathan Gilbert." Anna said, "I made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that would bring her back to life. I had Jeremy all ready to go, but…"

Elena tried to run but Anna was faster than her. She grabbed Elena and bit her wrist causing her to scream.

Bella walking around the tomb turned back and ran towards Elena.

Anna brought Elena's wrist to her mother's lips.

"Please. Don't." Elena said.

"Get strong." Anna told her mom.

Bella grabbed Anna and slammed her against the wall. She grabbed her neck and began squeezing. Anna struggled to release Bella's hold. Stefan ran in, seeing what had happened.

"Bella no." Elena said.

"Why?" Bella asked, squeezing Anna's neck tighter.

"She just wants her mother. Please Bella let her go." Elena pleaded.

Bella roughly released her; Anna fell to the ground coughing.

"Go. Go. I'm right behind you guys." Stefan said.

They began to leave the tomb.

"Elena, Bella, Stefan-" Bonnie said when they got out of the tomb.

"He's right behind us." Elena said.

Then Stefan came but didn't come past the door.

"Stefan what are you doing?" Elena asked.

"It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it." Bonnie said.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"I can't." Stefan said.

"Can't? Can't what?" Elena said.

"The spell's still up. We can't get them out yet." Bonnie said

"You went in there not knowing if you could get back out." Elena said.

"I heard you scream." Stefan said.

"We can't leave Damon in there, we promised him, all of us." Elena said.

"I know." Stefan said.

"Even if we're able to break the spell, we won't be able to hold it for long." Grams said.

Stefan nodded before reading back to find Damon.

"I think its working." Elena said.

Then Anna came out with her mother.

"I just wanted my mother back." she said, "Jeremy's fine. He's outside. We won't touch him."

Then she left.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie, keep going." Grams said to her, "They better hurry."<p>

"Stefan, they can't hold it much longer." Elena yelled into the tomb.

Then one of the torches went out.

"I'm gonna go get them." Elena said before running back into the tomb, Bella following after her.

* * *

><p>"She's not here, how could she not be here?" murmured Damon in confusion. He was pacing and breathing rapidly, his hands shook and his voice wavered.<p>

"Damon, we need to leave now." Stefan said.

Damon was still pacing and muttering as though he hadn't spoken at all.

"Damon!" Stefan said again, desperation in his voice.

"_She's not here!_" he roared back even louder. The blood bag he held was thrown at the wall, causing it to explode and drip down its dirty surface.

"Damon." Elena said when she ran up to them. "Please."

Damon looked at her before walking with them to the entrance. They made it out just before the door closed.

* * *

><p>Stefan and Elena checked on Jeremy while Bella went to find the others. Elena saw Damon standing alone. She walked up to him and gave him a hug.<p>

"I'm so sorry." She said.

Damon stared ahead as her slowly began to hug her back.

* * *

><p>Bonnie and her grams got back to Sheila's house and Bonnie was going to help the older weaker witch to a sitting place, but she shooed her.<p>

"Let me help you." Bonnie pleaded.

"Oh, I'm fine." Sheila laughed. "You don't need to coddle me, baby."

"It was a big spell, Grams." Bonnie argued. "I could tell it took a lot out of you."

"I'll be fine." Sheila assured her.

* * *

><p>Elena was giving Jeremy some water and an aspirin, worrying that he would remember what had happened with Anna or Ben.<p>

"How's your head?" Elena asked.

"Oh, it's, uh, it's alright." Jeremy shrugged taking the aspirin "I just – I wish I knew how I passed out. I didn't drink that much, I swear."

"And you don't remember anything?" Elena questioned.

"The whole thing's pretty cloudy. I just... I know how this looks. I'm – I'm sorry." Jeremy murmured.

"No, Jeremy, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything, ok." Elena stroked his head.

"Ok." Jeremy nodded.

"I have got to go head over to Bonnie's for a little bit, but is there anything you need?" Elena asked.

"Oh, no, I'm just – I'm gonna crash." Jeremy nodded.

"Ok. Well, Jenna's here, and I'll be back soon." Elena assured him kindly.

* * *

><p>Anna guided her mother into the motel room where her and Ben had been saying, she switched on the light to see Damon watching them.<p>

"You knew Katherine wasn't in there." Damon said angrily.

"You wouldn't have helped." Anna shook her head.

Damon moved quicker than Anna could think and he grabbed her mother by the neck crushing it beneath his hands, she gasped.

"No!" Anna screamed.

"Why do you get happiness?" Damon growled at the older Vampire.

"Damon, please, you wouldn't have helped me! You know you wouldn't!" Anna exclaimed trying to push him away.

"Why do you get it and I don't!" Damon's voice was pained.

"The guard, the one at the church, the one who locked us in, she promised to turn him, he was obsessed with her." Pearl rasped as Damon continued to crush her throat "She had him under her spell like everybody else. He let her go." Damon let Pearl go and her daughter caught her into an embrace.

"The last I saw her was Chicago, 1983... She knew where you were, Damon. She didn't care." Anna announced brutally seeing the look change to depression "Sorry." She whispered.

* * *

><p>"I've just got to Bonnie's." Elena told Stefan on the phone.<p>

"Everything alright?" Stefan questioned.

"Yeah... How is Damon? Is he going to be ok?" She asked lightly.

"I don't know. I'll call you later?" He asked.

"Thanks, Stefan." She smiled before hanging up.

* * *

><p>Stefan walked into the library to find Damon just staring blankly into the fire; he took small steps in before just sitting down next to him. They sat in silence.<p>

* * *

><p>Bonnie walked into her Grams room holding a cup of tea; she placed it on the side and sat down next to her.<p>

"Grams." Bonnie said lightly to wake her "Grams." She repeated, but still nothing "Grams. Wake up." She started getting more frantic shaking her she then began to cry "Elena!" She called.

Elena ran to the room and stopped dead when she saw Sheila lying on the bed.

"She's not breathing!" Bonnie screamed continuing to cry.

"Bonnie." Elena said tearfully, trying to pull her away from the body before grabbing her cell phone.

"Please wake up!" Bonnie sobbed.

"I need an ambulance." Elena spoke down the phone. "It's an emergency."

"I can fix this!" Bonnie said, frantically flipping through the grimoire.

"Bonnie. Bonnie, I'm sorry." Elena said, holding onto her friend.

"No! No!" Bonnie squirmed from her embrace.

"Bonnie." Elena gripped her tightly.

"I can fix this." Bonnie stated determined.

Elena tightened her grip as Bonnie continued to cry.


	16. A Few Good Men

**Chapter Fifteen: A Few Good Men**

In the tomb a vampire named Harper grabs a bag of blood that Damon had brought for Katherine, and begins to suck the remains out of it before throwing it to the floor and leaving the tomb.

He wanders around the forest all night until he begins to smell something delectable. Someone delectable. It was a hiker out for an early morning stroll through the woods.

"Jeez! You scared me." The man smiled.

"Do you know what day it is?" The weak vampire questioned.

"It's Saturday." The man replied.

"And what year?" Harper asked again.

"It's 2010." The hiker eyed the man carefully "Are you ok?"

"Thank you." Harper nodded before turning.

"Wait, what's you're name?" The man questioned this time.

"It's Harper, sir." The vampire nodded.

"How did you get out here? And why are you dressed like that?" The hiker looked at Harper's torn and old clothes, he looked like he was from the 1800s.

You seem like a very nice person." Harper stated taking a step towards the man "I am sorry."

"Sorry for what?" The Hiker smiled.

Harper ripped into his neck and drain him completely of his blood, once he was done with the feeding Harper undressed the man and used his clothes as his own. The vampire felt a heavy object in one of the pockets; he pulled it out to reveal a cell phone.

* * *

><p>Elena was outside on the porch, her diary in her lap and her cell phone against her ear.<p>

"Hey, Bonnie, it's me just checking in, seeing how you're doing." Elena spoke to Bonnie's. "I miss you here. Don't let you Aunt drive you too crazy. Come home soon. Love you." Elena hung up.

"What are you doing out here?" Jenna stepped outside wrapping herself in a blanket.

"Writing." Elena tapped her pen against her journal. "The funeral for Bonnie's grandma, it brought back a lot of memories, about my adoptive parents." Elena told her. "I was wondering. You said that you would do some digging about them..."

"Right." Jenna nodded.

"So did you? Dig?" Elena asked again.

"Come inside." Jenna told her.

* * *

><p>"Elena, your dad kept everything from his medical practice – records, logs, old appointment books. I found an entry from the night you two were born. Patient and a birth day. Isobel Peterson." Jenna told her.<p>

"Do you think that's her real name?" Elena asked.

"Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where's she got Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So I binged it." Jenna turned her laptop around. "I searched for all the Peterson's in this area born the same year as Isobel, found 3 – 2 men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here." Elena said.

"Well, watch this." Jenna began typing until she brought up a picture of two women.

"Isobel." Elena whispered. "She was a cheerleader?"

"Trudie still lives there." Jenna said. "This is her address." she handed her a pink sticky note.

"What about Isobel?" Elena questioned.

"I couldn't find anything about her. Listen, there's something else. Mr. Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here, and her name was also Isobel..." Jenna trailed off.

"Wait... 'Was' as in..." Elena paused.

"She died." Jenna nodded.

"I'm going out for a while." Elena said.

"Where?" Jenna asked.

"Just out." She replied before leaving.

* * *

><p>Bella was walking around the house checking on the others. Erica and Angel where in the living room playing chess.<p>

"Where's Aiden?" She asked.

"Outside." Angel answered, not looking away from the chess board. "Who knows what he's doing."

Bella left the house to search for him.

* * *

><p>Aiden was in the garage tinkering with his motorcycle.<p>

"You okay?" Bella asked.

Aiden stopped what he was doing, before setting down his tools and looking at Bella.

"She was a good woman." He said. "And she died because she depleted her energy doing that spell."

"We knew Katherine wasn't in the tomb. But even if we had told Damon that, he wouldn't have believed us. The original tomb spell was made by Bennett witches and could only be broken by them. Bonnie couldn't do the spell alone, not without dying. Sheila knew what she was doing. She knew the consequences of doing that spell at her age." Bella explained.

Aiden glared at her. "How many more people have to die? How many lives will be lost with the Salvatore's in town." He asked, standing up and stepping into Bella's personal space. "Who are we gonna let die next? Matt? Jeremy?" He went to speak again but Bella cut him off.

"Caroline?" Bella said.

Aiden's eyes hardened before he roughly pushed Bella, sending her flying out of the garage into the woods.

Bella flew into a tree, shattering it upon impact. She crashed into the ground, rolling a few times before stopping. She looked up from the ground, her eyes filling with anger.

* * *

><p>Erica and Angel looked up from their game, hearing the commotion outside. They raced out to see what was happening.<p>

* * *

><p>Aiden stalked out of the garage, waiting in front of the house.<p>

"What's going on?" Erica asked.

A blur hit Aiden from the side, sending him deep into the woods.

"Just venting some frustrations." Bella answered, wiping the dirt from her clothes before disappearing in the direction she sent Aiden.

Erica and Angel looked at each other before following.

* * *

><p>Aiden stood up, shaking in anger.<p>

Bella stopped, leaving some distance between them.

"This would've happened even without our intervention Aiden." Bella explained. "We are not super heroes. It's not our duty to save every life around us."

"So we should just put a sign on the town. 'All you can eat buffet. Vampires welcomed.'" Aiden sneered.

"I think you forget why the rest of the fae left. They tried to save the humans. But instead of protecting them from vampires, they tried to protect them from each other." Bella said, stepping towards him. "There were no vampires, no witches or werewolves involved with their conflict. No supernatural to start or take part in their violence. Just their hate and anger towards one another." Her tone hardening.

"Shut up!" Aiden roared, rushing towards Bella.

Bella dodged him, using his weight against him and slamming him into the ground. Aiden quickly got back up, charging towards her once again.

Erica and Angel arrived seeing their friends fighting.

"Stop!" Erica called, horrified that her friends are fighting.

Bella let Aiden collide with her, her feet digging into the dirt sliding back. She grabbed Aiden's body and swung, throwing him through several trees.

"Guy's stop!" Angel said this time.

Aiden grunted as he hit the ground. He stood and ran back to Bella's direction, intent on taking her down. Bella stood still, letting Aiden come to her. Aiden was a few feet away from Bella before she disappeared from sight. Aiden skidded to a stop, looking around him. Suddenly a hand gripped his throat and he was slammed to the ground, Bella on top of him.

Erica and Angel watched as the two blurs wrestled around the clearing.

Aiden struggled to gain the upper hand, rolling over only to be slammed into the ground again and again.

"Stop it Aiden!" Bella said her voice thick with emotion. "I am not your enemy!"

Aiden stopped struggling, lying still staring up at his long time friend.

"I understand!" Bella shouted. "Do you think that I am completely heartless? I know what you are going through!" She said, releasing him and standing up. "I used to think exactly like you! I used to stalk the streets at night, waiting for a vampire to attack someone so that I could save him. Do you want to know why I stopped?"

Erica and Angel watched on as their friend and leader shouted at their brother.

"There were times when I was too late to save someone. And as they died, as their spirit left their bodies I saw their lives." Bella said, tears beginning to run down her face. "I saw a husband coming home from work to his wife and three kids. I saw as he smiled at them, thinking that he must love them so much. I saw as he left for work and scheduled business trips, telling his children that he would have to miss a baseball game, or a ballet recital. In reality, he was sleeping with his secretary. Those business trips were really meetings with his mistress. He was planning on leaving his wife and kids to run away with a woman who only wanted him for his money! He was going to leave them with nothing!"

Aiden sat up silently, seeing his friend break apart.

"I saw a woman die, and when I saw her life, I saw how she beat her own daughter for being prettier than her. I saw how she sought to break her child's spirit over vanity. I've saw a teenager be killed and when I saw his life, I saw that he was selling drugs to other kids, some even younger than 12 years old! He wasn't even poor; there was no reason at all for him to begin selling in the first place. He wasn't in need and he wasn't desperate. He was consumed with greed!" Bella hiccupped. "I understand the need to save someone, but I also understand that not all human life is innocent. But I still have hope. I still see the smiles on children's face, and the looks of love in a couples eyes."

"Bella." Aiden spoke softly.

"We made a promise to Tatia." Her voice cracked when she said her name. "We will not let what happened to Katerina happen to Elena. We will protect them, both of them. Katherine Pierce is a mask. The Katerina we knew is still somewhere inside there. The Petrova's are our only duty." Bella stopped; she looked down at the ground before whispering. "If they die, I'm leaving. You can stay here for Caroline. Angel and Erica can do whatever they want. But if I no longer have anything left to tie me here… I'm leaving."

Aiden stared up at her before standing and enveloping her into a hug. Bella stared ahead blankly, tears still in her eyes but no longer falling. Erica and Angel sped out, wrapping their arms around Bella.

Slowly Bella's hands wrapped around Aiden, accepting the love that her friends were pouring into her.

"We tie you her Bella." Angel spoke softly.

"We wouldn't be the same without you." Erica said.

"I'm sorry." Aiden spoke. "For everything. But you can't leave. We wouldn't let you."

Bella closed her eyes, thinking how grateful she is for the companions she has.

* * *

><p>"Stefan." Elena called, looking for her boyfriend after visiting Trudie.<p>

"Better." She heard Damon say as he came into view, shirtless. "Me."

"You look…" She started.

"Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" Damon asked walking until he was just inches in front of her.

"Wrecked. You look wrecked." Elena said.

"No reason why." He said. "Do you know that I am one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors?"

Elena hummed, uninterested.

"Yep." He said turning to the mirror.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"Never better. Yep." He said putting on a shirt. "What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It's my new found purpose. How can I help people?"

"I was just looking for Stefan. We're supposed to be going to the fundraiser." She said.

"Help a guy out, will you?" Damon asked, gesturing to his shirt. "I can't get this."

Elena stepped forward and started to button his shirt.

"So I found out who her birth mother is." She said/

"Ugh, who care's." Damon said.

Elena looked at him, hurt.

"She left. She sucks." He finished.

"Elena, hey." Stefan said coming into the room.

"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." She said.

"Ugh. I need a bigger jacket." Damon said. "Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little bit." He said on his way out.

"He's fine. He's Damon." Stefan said.

"Maybe this heartache will be good for him." Elena said. "It'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat."

"Won't hold my breath." Stefan said.

"So I went to see Trudie Peterson." Elena said. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't plan it." Elena said seeing the look on Stefan's face.

"How was it?" He asked.

"She has vervain." Elena said. "She knows about vampires Stefan, it can't be a coincidence."

"It isn't. This is Alaric's wife." Stefan said bringing a picture out of his pocket.

"That's Isobel. He gave this to you?" Elena asked.

"Everything he knows about vampires he learned from her. He believes that she was killed by one." Stefan said.

"Oh my God." Elena said.

* * *

><p>After Elena left, Stefan went and found Damon in the parlor with several girls around him.<p>

"What do you want, Stefan?" Damon said, seeing his brother stare at him.

"There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke." Stefan attempted to jog his memory.

"You want to discuss the woman in my past right now? Seriously?" Damon spat.

"You killed her." Stefan stated.

"What's your point?" Damon rolled his eyes

"I just – I just want to know if you remember anything about her." The younger brother shrugged.

"Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan." Damon replied

"Well, think hard, it's important." The boy stated.

"Nothing is important, not anymore. Great char. I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief." Damon said, before returning to his previous activity.

* * *

><p>The gang, Elena, Caroline and Matt all sat in the crowded Mystic Grill await the fundraiser to begin, Caroline was also helping out taking the money in for the raffle tickets, and somehow the conversation had turned to Damon.<p>

"He's already been hit on, like, 35 times... He's total cougar bait." Caroline said.

Erica and Aiden chuckled at her while Angel nodded uninterested. She had found out that Matt and Caroline where a couple and was trying to handle it has nonchalantly as she could.

They all sat there continuing to talk when Kelly Donovan stumbled her way over to the table.

"Hi, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline smiled politely.

"Elena, honey!" Kelly ignored the blonde.

"Hi, Kelly." Elena greeted her awkwardly.

"Long time, no see." She announced.

"How are you doing?" The brunette girl questioned.

"Oh, same old. Matty tells me you broke his heart." Matt's mother pouted.

"Mom." Matt scolded.

"Just kidding. Calm down. He found his rebound girl. Oh. Here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy." She gave Caroline some money "I just hope I don't get bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive. In any way." She laughed cruelly as she took the raffle tickets "Very exciting."

Angel stood up and stepped close to Kelly. "I'm sure that you life of being the town bicycle who gets her kicks off on picking people with actual futures is very exciting." She commented.

"I'm sorry; who do you think you are?" Kelly said, stepping closer.

"Apparently I'm a lot more then you'll ever be, though you haven't made it a difficult goal to reach. And so is Caroline. So walk away." Angel replied.

Kelly glared at her before storming away.

The rest of the table stared silently at Angel as she sat back down.

"Thank you." Caroline said.

"It's no problem." Angel replied. "I'm sorry Matt, I know she's you mom-"

"It's okay." He said. "She was crossing a line."

"Meow." Erica said, causing the table to break into chuckles.

* * *

><p>"And what do you do bachelor number three?" Carol Lockwood asked one of the bachelors.<p>

"I'm a plumber." He said.

"Isn't that a wonderful? We could always use more plumbers." Carol said.

Then she moved on to Alaric.

"Number four, Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quiet a mouthful. What do you do Alaric?" She asked.

"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls high." He answered.

"Oh, beauty and brains ladies, this one's a keeper. What do you teach?"

"History." He said.

"History. Oh, well give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls. Something crazy." Carol said.

"Uh…" He paused.

"He's probably saving the best stories for his date." Carol saved. "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

"Well, I'm tough to put on card." Damon said.

"Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?" Carol asked.

"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago I was in North Carolina." Damon said. "Near the Duke campus, actually. I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric? Yeah, because I know your wife did."

Elena paused, as she began to connect the pieces.

"I had a drink with her once." Damon continued. "She was a great girl. Did I ever tell you that? Because she delicious."

Elena got up and walked outside. Stefan and Bella following after her.

* * *

><p>"Damon was the vampire that killed her?" Elena asked.<p>

"I don't know. They never found the body." Stefan said.

"Oh my God. Stefan." Elena said.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you but I just- I wanted to know more." Stefan said.

"I was feeling sorry for him hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him." Elena said. "I'm so stupid."

"He doesn't know the connection to you. I thought about confronting him, but-" Stefan tried to explain.

"Why are you protecting him?" Bella asked curious as it was only days ago that he wanted to be rid of him.

"Because you aren't the only ones hoping that he might actually change." Stefan said.

"That man." Elena said, causing Stefan and Bella to turn around. "I saw that man in front of Trudie's"

"Get back inside." Stefan said. "Come on."

* * *

><p>Bella took Elena to the restroom to wipe the tears from her face. When they were done they walked out and right into Damon.<p>

"Whoa. Easy. Buy a ticket like everyone else." Damon said, stopping them.

"Did you enjoy that?" Elena asked. "Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?"

"What?" Damon asked.

"Just as I was starting to think there was something redeemable about you." Elena said.

"Elena. Bella." Stefan said coming up behind Damon.

"Am I missing something?" Damon asked.

"Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking about my birthmother, the one that gave me up?" Elena said.

"Mm-mm." Damon hummed.

"Her name was Isobel." Bella said, watching as shock spread across Damon's face.

"Go head. Reminisce about how you killed her." Elena said before walking off.

"You are slowly using up your chances." Bella said stepping closer to him. "I would watch myself if I were you. If Elena wants you gone, I suggest you leave town. If not…I'm sure that I could find some way to convince you." She said before walking after Elena.

* * *

><p>"Come on let's get you guys home." Stefan said once they were outside.<p>

Suddenly the guy Elena had pointed out earlier was standing in front of them.

"I have a message for you." He said looking at Elena.

"What?" Elena asked.

Bella stepped in front of her.

"Who are you?" Stefan asked.

"Stop looking." The man said, ignoring Stefan.

"Stop looking for what?" Elena asked.

"She doesn't want to know you." He said. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Isobel?" Elena asked.

"You need to stop looking." He said. "Do you understand?"

"She's alive?" Bella asked.

"Does that mean she's a-?" Elena continued.

"He's under compulsion." Stefan said to them.

"I know that." Bella said. "I'm just stuck on the fact that she's alive."

"Do you understand?" The man repeated.

"Yes, I do." Elena said.

"Good." he said. "I'm done now."

Then the man walked backwards into the street where he was run over by a car. They ran over to him.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Bella said, seeing the man was dead. "Come on."

* * *

><p>After getting the others Bella and Stefan brought Elena home before leaving to their own houses.<p>

* * *

><p>Stefan entered the parlor to find Alaric on the floor dead and Damon sitting on the couch drinking.<p>

"What happened?" Stefan asked. "What did you do?"

"Do what? He attacked me." Damon said.

"Damon." Stefan said.

"All I did was tell him the truth." Damon said. "His wife didn't want him anymore. Not my fault he couldn't handle it."

"Like you've been handling Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"I'm handling it fine." Damon said. "You know what? Isobel came to me. She found me. And if she's related to Elena, she's related to Katherine. Maybe Katherine sent her to me." Damon said.

"Stop it." Stefan said. "You don't have to keep looking."

"It can't be a coincidence that Isobel sought me out." Damon said. "Mm-mm. It can't be. I assume you'll take care of this, Stefan? Have a goodnight." He said walking out.

Suddenly Alaric gasped and sat up.

"What happened? What's going on?" He asked.

"You were just…" Stefan started. "Did Damon turn you?"

"No, I went for him, and then he, uh- He stabbed me." Alaric said.

"No, you must have vampire blood in your system." Stefan said.

"No, it's something else." Alaric said.

"Then how?" Stefan asked.

"Isobel." Alaric said looking at his ring. "This ring protected me."

"That's impossible." Stefan said.

"I know." Alaric murmured.

* * *

><p>Elena was sitting on her bed, staring at the cell phone in her hand before dialing the last number called.<p>

"Was there a problem?" Isobel asked "Did you find her? What's going on?" She asked impatiently.

"Isobel?" Elena asked her voice thick.

She heard the phone click off.

* * *

><p>Harper walked up to a house, he carefully knocked the door and waited for it to open, woman did with a smile on her face.<p>

"Pearl, it's Harper." She called to her before walking away.

"I'm glad you found us." Pearl smiled as she approached the door with Anna. "Ms. Gibbons, this gentleman is a friend of mine. May he come in?" she asked the compelled woman.

"Any friend of Pearl's is a friend of mine." Ms. Gibbons smiled. "Please do. Come in." She smiled before walking the same was as woman had gone.

"Annabelle, close the door, please." Pearl told Anna as she walked through the house with Harper in tow.

* * *

><p>At the house the others walked through the door.<p>

"Did we get everything?" Erica asked.

"Yeah. You guys did a lot of damage to the woods. I'm surprised no one noticed." Angel said.

They had spent most of the night cleaning up and restoring the trees they destroyed to their original size.

"That was everything." Aiden said as he sat down on the couch, Bella beside him.

Angel and Erica took seats across from them. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Well today was a tiring day." Erica said.

"Yeah, we should head to bed." Bella said, standing up.

"No." Angel spoke. "Everyone get their bedding and come back down. We'll all sleep down here. Watch movies. Eat popcorn and ice-cream."

"Sounds like a good idea." Aiden said.

Bella was quite for a moment. "Okay." She said.

* * *

><p>After moving the tables out the way and getting snacks, the group set up their pallets. They sprawled out next to each other watching a movie. Bella was in the middle and as the movie went on the group moved closer to her. They fell to sleep like that.<p> 


	17. There Goes the Neighbourhood

Chapter Sixteen: There Goes the Neighbourhood

Bella woke up, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She attempted to sit up but was held down by a weight. Taking a moment to focus she noticed that she was being weighed down by Aiden's arm around her waist and Erica lying on her stomach. She rolled her eyes before smirking. She lifted her fingers to her lips and blew loudly.

Aiden shot up, releasing a not so manly yelp. Erica jerked awake while Angel mumbled groggily before turning over only for a patch of sunlight to shine directly on her eyes. She released an unhappy sigh before sitting up.

"Was that really necessary?" Erica asked, as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well I had two choices; number one would be to stay her and let you guys sleep on me for the next couple of hours while number two would be to get up and start my day. Get up. We have to go to school." Bella said, finally being able to sit up.

"Couldn't you have just went back to sleep for just a little while? We could miss a day of school." Angel said, rubbing her eyes.

Bella got to her feet and began picking up their dishes from the night before. "Nope. We have damage control to do. Last night was kinda rough on Elena." She said.

Aiden rolled his eyes before speaking. "Ever since the Salvatore's came back, she has been having nothing but problems. She was supposed to have a normal life, but they just had to screw it up."

Angel sighed, exasperated. "Enough with the bashing Aiden! They're here to stay. Get used to it! And we were going to _attempt _to give her a normal life. The second she was born it was known that her life would never be normal. She's a doppelganger! We gave her a normal life for as long as we could. Do I wish that she could have been older before having to deal with this? Yeah. But she not. She wants Stefan in her life? Done. Does that mean we get Damon as a side package? It sucks, but yes. So quit complaining and actually make an effort to make the situation as bearable as you can." She said.

Silence filled the room before Erica broke it. "Wow." She said.

"Got some anger in you?"

Angel rolled her eyes. "I just figured it's best to just go with it rather than complaining every step of the way."

"Well let's get this stuff cleaned up and get ready to leave." Bella said.

Angel, Aiden, and Erica stood up and began to help clean up, speeding around the room at a supernatural speed. In seconds everything was back to how it usually is. They then headed to their rooms to get dressed for the day.

* * *

><p>Bella and the others walked into class, seeing Stefan and Elena sit down. Bella walked and sat down in the desk in front of Elena. Erica sat behind Stefan, while Angle sat in front of him. Aiden went to sit behind Caroline.<p>

"Damon hasn't said a word to me. Every time I try to talk to him he shuts me down." Stefan explained.

"Do you think he's still trying to find Katherine?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. He waited a hundred and forty five years only to find out that Katherine could not care less. And he's got hurt right?" Stefan said.

"And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Elena groaned.

"You have every reason to be upset of him" Stefan told her. "Have you thought any more about what you're going to do?" Stefan asked Elena changing the subject.

"About what? Isobel, my vampire birth mother, who's related to my vampire ancestor Katherine, who screwed over your vampire brother? Nah… I haven't thought about it at all" Elena rolled her eyes.

"Hold back on the sarcasm there Ellie. You're beginning to sound like me." Angel said, looking back at her smirking.

"Well I learned from the best." Elena said.

"The best indeed." Angel chuckled.

"I'm sorry I brought it up." Stefan apologized.

Elena groaned again. "It'd just be nice if we could get through one day without having to deal with any it. No vampire mother or brother."

"No vampires at all?"

Elena smiled. "No vampires but you. I just wanna get us back to normal stuff like school and homework. And here's a thought; fun."

Bella turned around in her seat, facing Elena. "Well we know your view on vampires, but what's your view on certain fae sworn to protect you?" Bella teased.

"Those certain fae are always welcomed." Elena smiled.

"Well that's good, because if you want to have fun there are plenty of things you haven't seen us do yet." Bella said.

"Like what?" Elena asked.

"Well we have this nifty little power called teleportation. How do you feel about a day in Paris? If we leave now, we could have you back by dinner." She said.

"Paris?" Elena asked, awed.

Aiden looked up, hearing the conversation and smiled.

"Or Madrid, Rome, London, Tokyo. You name it." Bella smiled.

"Or if you don't want to leave, we could always take you flying. You might be scared at first but you'd love it." Erica said. "There's nothing like the wind in your hair a couple thousand feet above the ground."

Stefan's jaw dropped, amazed at the abilities the fae had. "You can do that?" He asked.

"Well the only time you guys ever seen us use any of our power was during the whole 'vampire stalker' fiasco. There's more to us then that." Angel said. "I mean sure we can be scary but most of the time we have fun."

They stopped talking as the teacher walked in and called attention to the class.

* * *

><p>Elena was standing at Stefan's locker, Caroline asking if they would go out tonight with her and Matt.<p>

"I'm thinking nothing huge, just a dinner at the Grill maybe a late moving..." Caroline asked

"You mean a double date?" Stefan asked.

"Two pairs out on a Friday night couple. Yeah a double date..." Caroline nodded.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Elena asked.

"Why not? We all haven't gone out together before and I don't want it to be uncomfortable for us. Look, the couple dynamics have changed and there's been a little awkwardness between you and Matt and I just think it's important that we get over it." Caroline nodded.

"I don't know." Elena shrugged.

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Stefan nodded.

"You do?" Elena asked, confused.

"Yeah. A nice evening out with friends. Sounds fun, like as in 'fun'." Stefan said, thinking of what she said earlier.

"Ok, it's a date." Elena said.

* * *

><p>Bella and the gang were sitting in their living room wondering what to do for the night.<p>

"So Elena and Stefan are double dating with Matt and Caroline. Should we just hang out at the grill or actually go to Paris?" Bella asked.

"No, it wouldn't feel right without Elena being there to experience it." Angel said.

"So the grill it is." Aiden said.

"Let's go." Erica said.

* * *

><p>Damon walked into the Grill and sit down next to a drunken Kelly; he pulled his black shades on to block the light.<p>

"What's with the glasses inside?" Kelly asked.

"My eyes are a little sensitive today." He replied.

"You're new around here." She said, looking him up and down.

"On the contrary, I'm very old." He flirted. "Bourbon, neat."

"I haven't been gone long. I would remember someone who looks like you." Kelly grinned at him.

"Yeah. Where did you go?" Damon asked.

"Around, about..." Kelly shrugged.

"I've been there." Damon joked before throwing back his drink.

"I love to see a man drown his sorrows. It's so sexy." Kelly chuckled.

"It's more like nursing my wounds. And you?" Damon cocked an eye brow at her.

"I was supposed to be interviewing for the bartender job, but I think the manager blew me off." She shrugged.

"Well, that's not very nice." Damon noted.

"Yeah. Last time I was in town, I slept with her boyfriend." Kelly reminisced.

"That's not very nice either." Damon nodded.

"It happens." Kelly shrugged.

"Yes it does." He said.

* * *

><p>Jenna walked in the Grill just after she had finished showing Pearl around the old apothecary and saw Kelly sitting up at the bar.<p>

"Kelly? Kelly Donovan!" Jenna squealed.

"Jenna!" Kelly jumped up and they both embraced each other, rocking back and forth.

"I heard you were back in town." She turned to Damon. "She used to babysit me..." She explained.

"And then I used to party with her." Kelly laughed.

"This woman is crazy." Jenna laughed.

"Not as crazy as you..." Kelly retorted.

"I'm not anymore." Jenna shrugged.

"Well sit, drink." Kelly told her.

"I shouldn't. I'm responsible now. Haven't you heard?" Jenna shrugged.

"Well, take a night off its good for the soul." Kelly replied.

"Great for the soul." Damon added.

"This is not going to end well." Jenna smirked as she sat next to Kelly and Damon.

"Can't wait." Damon muttered.

* * *

><p>Bella and the gang walked into the Mystic Grill.<p>

"You guys grab a table, I'll go order us some drinks." Angel said, walking towards the bar. On her way she noticed Matt, Caroline, Elena, and Stefan at a table before she heard loud laughter coming from the bar. She looked towards the sound and saw Damon, Jenna, and Kelly laughing drunkenly. "Oh great." She groaned, making her way to the bar.

"Demon! I didn't expect to see you here." Damon commented as he saw her.

Angel rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore him as she waited for the bartender to notice her.

"Come on now, don't be rude." Kelly chuckled.

"Yeah." Damon said, turning to her. "Don't be rude. Children are supposed to respect their elders and all that."

Angel painted a smile onto her face before turning to the three adults. "Lovely to see you this evening Jenna. I can see your night is going well." She said before turning her back, dismissing Damon and Kelly.

"Rude!" Damon said. "What about us?" He gestured to himself and Kelly.

Angel turned back to him. "I'm not going to pretend to be nice to people I don't like. I give respect to people who've earned it; like Jenna. You two on the other hand get on my nerves so I try to avoid you as much as I can."

"Listen here you little bi-" Kelly started.

Angel glared at her. "I dare you to finish that sentence." She said.

"Let's all just calm down." Jenna said, seeing things were getting out of hand.

Angel took a deep breath before turning towards the bar. "Joey!" She called.

The bartender up and came towards her. "What'd need?" He asked.

"Two cokes, a lemonade, and a sprite for table 4 please." Angel said.

"Coming right up." Joey said.

Angel tipped him before walking away. When she made it to the table the group looked at her.

"Well." Erica said. "That looked tense."

"It was just Damon being an ass." Angel said, sitting down next to her.

"What happened to making the situation as bearable as you can?" Aiden asked.

"It's a work in process." Angel glared at him.

* * *

><p>They all made small talk after that before they stiffened and went silent.<p>

_Relax. _Bella said.

The group casually picked at their food.

Erica scanned the crowd before finding the source. _Vampires. _She said, seeing a man and a woman. _They're not from here._

_By the way they're looking around makes it clear that they're not just passer byes._ Angel noted.

_The tomb spell failed. _Bella said.

_They're out. _Aiden said.

Bella noticed Jenna leaving the grill. _I'll be back later. I have to make sure she gets home safe._

* * *

><p>Jenna stumbled out of the Grill and as her shoes hits the floor the heel of it breaks off, and she curses, Frederick looks over and noticed the blond's problem.<p>

"Need some help?" Frederick asked walking over to her.

"Damn it! Stupid shoe." She cursed again.

"Here, lift up the other foot." Frederick ordered kneeling down to rip her other heel off before he hands her both broken heels.

"Thanks, I think." Jenna laughed.

"Was it Damon Salvatore you were with?" Frederick asked.

"The one and only. You know him?" Jenna questioned.

"We go way back. He still lives at Miller Lane?" He asked, subtly prying for information.

"He lives in the old boarding house by Wickery Bridge. He's still in there if you want to say hi." Jenna replied casually.

"I prefer to stay here and talk to you." The vampire flirted flirtatiously.

"Oh, nice. Very smooth with the shoe and the flirt." She laughed. "But, I'm a little drunk and a guy plus drunk me equals very bad things." She mumbled.

The back door to the grill opened to reveal Bella walking out. "Jenna, hey." She said.

Jenna turned towards the voice seeing Elena's friend. "Hi Bella." She smiled drunkenly.

"I'm heading out early and the others have the car. Want to catch a cab together." She asked, walking towards the woman.

"Sure." Jenna said.

Frederick looked into their eyes, trying to compel them. "Or we could just go for a walk. I'm sure we would have a great time."

Jenna burst out laughing. "Sorry. This was a seriously lame pick up." She choked out. "That and she's a minor." She gestured to Bella.

Bella let out a few chuckles.

Frederick took a breath, recognizing a scent in the air. "This is a nice scent you wear. What is it?" He asked.

"I don't know." Jenna laughed again. "It was a gift. And that is a cab so..."

"We should get going." Bella said, ushering Jenna into the car.

Frederick was left standing there as the woman – Beth-Anne – came up behind him standing there casually.

"Vervain..." He said, turning to her. "They're making it hard to find something to eat in this town."

* * *

><p>As Bella and Jenna made their way up the porch, Bella looked towards the house. <em>Another vampire? <em>She listened for any distress. _A heartbeat. Jeremy must still be home and where he is for some reason Anna follows._ She opened the door, letting Jenna inside first before following her in and loudly slamming the door behind her.

"Jenna!" Jeremy appeared in the hallway. "And Bella! Hey, what's up?" He said.

"Regret." Jenna said. "Thanks for getting me home Bella."

"No problem." The girl answered.

"Make sure you lock that up." Jenna told Jeremy, pointing to the door as she stumbled up the stairs.

Jeremy quickly walked back into the kitchen to see Anna had gone, there was no trace of her ever being there, but Jeremy looked down at the palm of his hand and saw the cut and grinned at it.

"That's quite a cut." Bella said, noticing his grin.

Jeremy stopped smiling and turned towards her. "Yeah, it was an accident. I'll go clean it up." He said, quickly making his way up the stairs.

_Oh joy. _Bella thought dryly. _Now they're both dating vampires. We just can't catch a break. _She turned around and headed out the front door. After closing it behind her she flicked her wrist, hearing the lock click as she walked down the porch.

* * *

><p>Elena was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when Jeremy walked in to brush his teeth too, she smiled at him.<p>

"How was your night?" She asked.

"Ah... same old. Same old." He lied, hoping Bella hadn't told her anything. "You?"

"Yep"" She said, popping the 'p'.

* * *

><p>Bella walked into the house, seeing everyone else already there.<p>

"The tomb vampires are out." She said. "This is gonna be a problem."


End file.
